So if you haven’t heard, you can download the new Angels & Airwaves album, “Love” for FREE right here.
I first became aware of Angels & Airwaves just after the release of their first album, We Don’t Need to Whisper back in May 2006. My friend Travis said, “I feel like I’m listening to what happened when Blink-182 had sex with U2.” I was taken aback, but upon listening to the first couple of tracks, had to agree that his statement was accurate. I soon found out this was no accident.
Angels & Airwaves is Tom DeLong (of Blink182 fame) and some of his closest friends. After Blink broke up, Tom wanted to explore the commercial success of stadium rock bands like Radiohead and… U2. He stated that he admired the musicianship and showmanship of that level of band and wanted to duplicate their success with Angels & Airwaves (which was soon abbreviated ‘AVA’). AVA’s music and live concert experience are both, therefore, intentionally reminiscent of the big stadium rock bands.
We Don’t Need to Whisper is a fun, powerful album, and solid both lyrically and musically. I was surprised by the spirituality of the lyrics – being familiar only with Blink-182’s sophomoric but hilarious lyrics, Tom’s more thoughtful direction impressed me then, and he maintains this trajectory throughout their albums.
I-Empire came out in Fall 2007, and it proved to be more of the same from AVA. The first single, “Everything’s Magic” is a fun, bouncy love song whose lyrics are a delight, but they don’t represent fully the depth of the album. “Secret Crowds” invites us to imagine what could happen if we could build a world without “police, packed parking lots, guns and bombs sounding off.” The closing track, “Heaven” is a gorgeous sweeping exploration of the connections between us. DeLong croons in the chorus:
The lights and sounds… oh God, this is such a mess
And it’s like our world, but we’re the last ones left
And the hair, it stands on the back of our necks
And I swear, it shows, Heaven must be just like this…”
Amanda and I used this as the recessional song at our wedding because if Relationship really is the core of Trinitarian life, then our wedding day, in the presence of God and our family and friends, really is what Heaven is going to be like.
AVA’s third album “Love” was released on Valentine’s Day 2010 completely FREE, and it’s their most ambitious project yet (not only are the music and lyrics equally sound, but it’s the soundtrack for a feature film of the same name to be released in May 2010). The band’s spiritual exploration continues in full force. Their song “Hallucinations” invites us to consider the reality of imagination by asking “Do you believe in hallucinations? In any dream or its revelation?” I couldn’t help but think of Jesus’ call to imagine the Kingdom of God here on earth in the Sermon on the Mount (though I’d never say that DeLong wrote with that in mind). “Letters to God Pt 2” finds DeLong confessing, “Dear God, I found out the same things we learn when we die. I found out the truth is it’s all a big lie. I find that the words are hard to describe. I tell you, I’m lost here, awaiting reply.” In the best pop music tradition, AVA walks the line between trite and thoughtful (and I’ll be the first to admit that they tend to err on the side of trite more often than not).
Even though the album is a bit short, it’s FREE. AVA is releasing a for-pay, store version with 30 extra minutes of music from the film. So get it while it’s free!
One last note about AVA: their live shows are truly astounding – well choreographed, and a multi-sensory experience. Tom is funny and well-spoken, and he engages the crowd well. Amanda and I caught their “I-Empire” tour, and when he talked about forming the band, Tom said, “We wanted to make music that made you feel like you’re flying.” In this sense, AVA has succeeded marvelously. That statement sums them up for me: their music soars, and even if the songs are somewhat difficult to distinguish from one another on occasion, they’re consistently beautiful.
This is approximately how listening to AVA feels.
I first became aware of Angels & Airwaves just after the release of their first album, We Don’t Need to Whisper back in May 2006. My friend Travis said, “I feel like I’m listening to what happened when Blink-182 had sex with U2.” I was taken aback, but upon listening to the first couple of tracks, had to agree that his statement was accurate. I soon found out this was no accident.
I-Empire came out in Fall 2007, and it proved to be more of the same from AVA. The first single, “Everything’s Magic” is a fun, bouncy love song whose lyrics are a delight, but they don’t represent fully the depth of the album. “Secret Crowds” invites us to imagine what could happen if we could build a world without “police, packed parking lots, guns and bombs sounding off.” The closing track, “Heaven” is a gorgeous sweeping exploration of the connections between us. DeLong croons in the chorus:
The lights and sounds… oh God, this is such a mess
And it’s like our world, but we’re the last ones left
And the hair, it stands on the back of our necks
And I swear, it shows, Heaven must be just like this…”
Amanda and I used this as the recessional song at our wedding because if Relationship really is the core of Trinitarian life, then our wedding day, in the presence of God and our family and friends, really is what Heaven is going to be like.
AVA’s third album “Love” was released on Valentine’s Day 2010 completely FREE, and it’s their most ambitious project yet (not only are the music and lyrics equally sound, but it’s the soundtrack for a feature film of the same name to be released in May 2010). The band’s spiritual exploration continues in full force. Their song “Hallucinations” invites us to consider the reality of imagination by asking “Do you believe in hallucinations? In any dream or its revelation?” I couldn’t help but think of Jesus’ call to imagine the Kingdom of God here on earth in the Sermon on the Mount (though I’d never say that DeLong wrote with that in mind). “Letters to God Pt 2” finds DeLong confessing, “Dear God, I found out the same things we learn when we die. I found out the truth is it’s all a big lie. I find that the words are hard to describe. I tell you, I’m lost here, awaiting reply.” In the best pop music tradition, AVA walks the line between trite and thoughtful (and I’ll be the first to admit that they tend to err on the side of trite more often than not).
Even though the album is a bit short, it’s FREE. AVA is releasing a for-pay, store version with 30 extra minutes of music from the film. So get it while it’s free!
One last note about AVA: their live shows are truly astounding – well choreographed, and a multi-sensory experience. Tom is funny and well-spoken, and he engages the crowd well. Amanda and I caught their “I-Empire” tour, and when he talked about forming the band, Tom said, “We wanted to make music that made you feel like you’re flying.” In this sense, AVA has succeeded marvelously. That statement sums them up for me: their music soars, and even if the songs are somewhat difficult to distinguish from one another on occasion, they’re consistently beautiful.
This is approximately how listening to AVA feels.
