Angels & Airwaves: No Weak Link In First Album
When Tom, Travis, and Mark decided to take an indefinite leave (read: band split up) many fans of Blink 182 were disappointed because it seemed that the band was on its prime with their latest album, and the thought of them breaking up and going on separate ways seemed an unpleasant thought. Then Tom announced his new band, Angels & Airwaves.
I didn’t think that a new band, whether it is fronted by Mark, Tom, or Travis will sound as good as they did before simply because they sound good collectively. Their individual talents complement each other that’s why they kept on producing great music. However, Angels & Airwaves proved they can prove themselves as a competent band when they released their first album We Don’t Need to Whisper.
To start this critique of the album, let me say that Tom is an amazing musician and you can expect him to do magic regardless of what band he plays in. In each track of the album, Tom’s wonderful and powerful vocals shone through. Add to that the great performance of each instruments, you have a great track in your hands.
Since I don’t really expect the record to break barriers and knock me off my feet, it was surprising to hear a great album. It’s mix of good lyrics, strong guitars and percussion, nice rifts and arrangement, you are left with incredible music.
With Angels & Airwaves, Tom has taken on a more serious path. He, together with his new band mates, was able to create a great line up of songs that talk about war, love, loss, hope, and space. Each track can stand alone. Each track is brilliant in its own way. They have a more mature sound. The lyrics attempt to talk about serious stuff with more depth.
Angels & Airwaves showcased their superb ability to play the instruments in the album. You will hear every rift, strum, and beat perfectly timed to fit the lyric and melody. In order to give due importance to their musical ability, they have made their introductions long. One track, Valkyrie Missile, had an introduction that runs 2 minutes and 40 seconds. Another track that had a quite long introduction is Distraction, with 1 minute and 9 seconds.
The message of the whole album is what makes it very noteworthy. All the other elements, the lyrics, melody, rifts, and vocals all add up to make the message be heard loud and clear. In each song, you will feel the emotion behind Tom’s vocals. It will haunt you and hit home. The message is relayed through the lyrics, which at times, can be repetitive. The writing is good but not remarkable. Nevertheless, it still makes a good impact for the listener.
As an end note, one cannot say that Angels & Airwaves is just another wannabe band. You can say that Tom’s involvement has helped a lot in the outcome of their first attempt to enter the music scene but one must also take into consideration the individual talents of the other members. In the end, they, as a group, were able to create a noteworthy and memorable music.
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