About the time that blink-182 announced they would take an “indefinite hiatus� - generally band code for “we will never be seen in public together again� - Tom DeLonge had a physical and emotional epiphany that led him to form Angels and Airwaves. The band’s debut album, We Don’t Need to Whisper, is no less loftily informed, with a soundscape that builds its foundation on blink’s infectious pop/punk bluster and then folds in elements of pop/prog and a thematic conceptual thread. Utilizing a sound that suggests a pop/punk band with an abiding love of the Police, the Samples and Supertramp, AaA burns through a set of songs that are both punkishly energetic and popishly subtle. DeLonge’s ambitions with Angels and Airwaves are incredibly mature, considering the cartoonish punk juvenilia that was blink’s stock-in-trade, but not so far afield from that arena to alienate the powerful and voluminous fan base that he’s built to this point. The fact is that DeLonge has a clear vision for Angels and Airwaves and Whisper is only the first act in a very deliberately conceived plan. There are the film-like videos that have already been released, hints of a movie script, and a new song that’s available online, the nearly nine minute/three movement mini rock opera “Stars in the Sky.� Whatever DeLonge has in store for the next phase of Angels and Airwaves, We Don’t Need to Whisper is the right first step.
~ Brian Baker
Release date: May 23, 2006
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