Angels & Airwaves - The Dream Walker (2014)
So the line-up change last album, switching out longtime drummer Adam 'Atom' Willard with Ilan Rubin proved to be pretty interesting, and helped breathe a bit of new life into the band with the post-rock section of the EP he was featured on, but since this album, both guitarist David Kennedy and bassist Matt Wachter have mysteriously vanished from the band without any explanation, leaving Tom DeLonge and Ilan Rubin to work on their own as a duo, and that's pretty scary from a musical standpoint on paper, because given Tom's habit of rehashing songs, and two consistent members having left, it can be pretty safely assumed that something is gonna be different here, and it is: THIS ALBUM IS FUCKING AWESOME.
I have NO FUCKING IDEA what happened, but when you leave Tom DeLonge and Ilan Rubin alone in a room together, some great shit happens!! This is the most alive and amazing the band has sounded since "I-Empire" and they're walking with two lost limbs! The music is generally darker, but just as magical as it was before when they really hit their prime musically, without any throwbacks to earlier material (there's no "Everything's Magic" to be found on this album, thank God for that), and really stands on its own as a rebirth of the band, and a promise of what's to come: The same band I loved, but different. The music sounds like it's constantly building off of the natural and newfound musical chemistry between Tom DeLonge and Ilan Rubin, as Tom's love for melodies and pushing the envelope, and Ilan's love for electronics and atmospheres collide into each other, forming new, solid ground for Angels & Airwaves to walk on and stick their flag into.
What's really new and interesting about this album is that it, much like the title suggests, has a dream-like feel to it. It's mixed in such a way that it almost, at times, sounds like you left a CD on, fell asleep, and hear it in your dreams, where hopefully you and Tom DeLonge are riding a rocket made out of love (no, not his penis) into a sun made out of happiness. It's truly such an interesting choice of production, because while it's obviously not the best, it -works- to the point where anything "better" would worsen the music dramatically. Who knows if I'd like another Angels & Airwaves album with this production, but given that it's so unique to this album, and fits in so well with the songs, both lyrical and musically, it's so damn hard NOT to like it for what it is. Along with your dreams, this album serves as the soundtrack of Tom DeLonge finally succeeding completely at breaking away from being "that guy from blink-182" and more of a "real artist", as he'd like to call himself, and that's NOT talking shit about Box Car Racer or Angels & Airwaves (except for the albums I don't particularly like), but more that this is such an impressive achievement for him to have accomplished, to the point where a guy like me, who mainly enjoyed the band in short doses aside from "I-Empire" has to give major props for pulling off a total revamp of sound. I'm actually excited to listen to this!!
From the beginning of "Teenagers & Rituals" to the somber ending acoustic song "Anomaly", there's just so much to like about this album, and I might as well just say it: Even though I think they're equally good, I think I'm gonna end up liking this album even more than "I-Empire", or will at least get more replay value from me. There's just too many amazing moments on this album, like the distorted, almost strangely grunge-like "Paralyzed" with an interesting atmosphere, to the synthpop "Kiss With a Spell", to the GORGEOUS chorus of "The Disease", this album is... Fuck, can I just say everything's magic on this album? Is that alright? It's like the band REALLY focused on making some great material and then injected some Disney-like magic into the songs to really elevate them to being not just songs to listen to, but songs to remember.
You have nearly EVERYTHING you could want from Angels & Airwaves here: The electronics, the riffs, the atmospheres, the experimental nature, the catchy melodies, the love-filled lyrics, everything.. But everything meshes as well as it should, without the issue of "we have to stretch these songs out so they seem even more artistic!!" that other albums by the band seemed to encounter at times. The songs say and do what they need to, and then they're out, for another great song to take their place. There's not a single song on this album I don't like enough to throw into a "shuffles" playlist, which, as you know, is a sign of "damn, I like this song" for me. I was pretty upset about Tom DeLonge being kicked out of blink-182, despite how much I like Matt Skiba and LOVE "California", but if he continues to make this kind of music, especially with Ilan Rubin by his side.. Well, I'm gonna make it through the pain, I'll say that much.
8/10 ________________________________________________________
Feel free to check out the song previews/buy this album using my Amazon Associate link!
