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Angels & Airwaves' I-Empire released today
| 05-11-2007 21:55 | 0 reaction(s) | add reaction | add news |
“People are going to flip out when they hear this. I’m not even joking right now, it’s so good. It’s so much better than anything I’ve ever done.” - Tom DeLonge
Statements of this sort have become commonplace from the front-man of Angels & Airwaves. Seeking to create hype for the band has proved somewhat counter-productive for them, by rendering them distinctly less likable. Ironically though, he wasn’t too far off the mark.
“I-Empire” is clearly ’so much better than anything he’s ever done before’. Each track on the U2 meets Blink album bristles with an urgency and energy not often seen in the world of pop-punk. True, it’s not the earth shattering event that DeLonge often describes it as, but the band are at least trying something a little different.
From opening track “Breathe”, the formula is laid down, synths shimmer around in the mix, impressive bass work keeps things heavy and choruses explode like a white dwarf in supernova. After a few tracks, it becomes apparent that AVA have dug themselves into a trench stylistically. Repetitiveness occasionally rears it’s head but not quite so often that it renders the album banal.
A lot of the problems come in the area of vocals, although DeLonge’s voice is well suited to the music, he often resorts to the same vocal melodies in the chorus of each song. When attempts are made to bust the rut, like on the introduction of “Call To Arms” he nails it easily, just like when the vocals enter the realm of the upper octaves, sadly, it’s just not frequent enough to provide the needed diversity. Perhaps next time around it would be advantageous if other members of the band were to help out in this department rather than be confined to the distant background.
Angels & Airwaves have honed their skills at serenading the skies. Lyrically the songs are almost always aimed to the depths of the universe, but occasionally they betray a personal touch (”And everyday I wake I tell myself another harmless lie,/the whole wide world is mine”) which is so imperative in alternative music.
Granted, there’s still a way to go for the band, but “I-Empire” is nothing short of a solid sparkling entry in the pop-punk genre, and if they continue to compose tracks of the quality of “True Love” with it’s uproarious and compelling sound, then maybe, just maybe, the world could be theirs.
source: strangeglue.com |
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