Aside from ranking Linkin Park's albums awhile back, I've never done a music review for my blog because I can find some listen-ability in almost everything I listen to. However, this is a special case.
When Blink-182 went on hiatus, Tom DeLonge formed the new band "Angels and Airwaves", sometimes shortened to AVA. They released their first single "The Adventure" in 2006 and I really enjoyed that and the other singles that came after it, "Do It For Me Now" and "The War". But it wasn't until their second album "I-Empire" that I really became a huge fan of them. I got that album and then their first one, "We Don't Need to Whisper", and then later their "Love" double album. In my opinion, with the combination of epic melodies and beautiful lyrics, AVA epitomizes the feelings of love, compassion, and peace. Whenever I listen to them, it always brings up a positive feeling from in me. Now we're at the end of 2014 and they've just released their fifth album, "The Dream Walker", and it's break from the norm for this band.
I'll be honest, while listening to it for the first time, I was planning for this review to be quite negative. Let me explain. When it came to their previous work, the best way to describe it was "space rock" because it really was out of this world, and yeah, I know that's an overused expression. On the new album though, while the "space rock" elements are there, you can noticeably hear more of a rock vibe, like something you'd expect from Tom and Blink-182. With some of the songs, you could probably tell someone it was Blink-182 and they'd might believe you. Now I'm not against trying out with different sounds; Linkin Park does that every album. But that brings me to my second point. During the first listen-through, for the most part, I found Tom's vocals being drowned out by the music. It got to the point where I just found myself trying to get through the whole album. But I'm glad I did, because my feelings changed by the last two songs on the album. With "Tremors", while it still had the mix of Blink and AVA styles, it was the first song of the album that I found an AVA song trying to break through. Then there was the final song, "Anamoly". Usually the last song of an AVA album is like an epic grand finale. While that's not there with "Anamoly", it still does something more special. Unless I'm mistaken, it's the first use of an acoustic guitar in an AVA song, and it's just beautiful. Have a listen:
After that, I decided to listen to the album again from the start and all of a sudden, Tom's lyrics started coming in much clearer, almost like my senses finally tuned in to the right frequency to get the full experience of the album. I would say I can't explain it, but I might have a theory. With "Anamoly" probably the most unique song from their library, I think it made me realize that even though their sound may be different sometimes, it's the lyrics and message of the song that truly matter when it comes to AVA's music. After that, it became so much easier to listen to "The Dream Walker." Kind of makes me wish that "Tremors" and "Anamoly" were the first songs on the album to help realize it quicker, but maybe I needed that learning curve.
Starting with my third listen-through, I was beginning to pick up on the lyrics better and sing along. Along with the two songs I've mentioned, the others ones that really stand out to me are "Tunnels" and "Bullets in the Wind."
While some people will probably need time to get their head around this album, it's worth it in the end. I can't really say where I'd rank this with the other AVA albums, because they're all great in their own way. "The Dream Walker" may be different, but it's a nice new addition to AVA's discography. And if you're more of a fan of Tom's work with Blink-182, I'd say you'd enjoy this album too.
This is one of those rare moments where I don't give a score in a review, but I'll just say that this would make a great holiday present for your significant other.
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