LOVE

If I had a nickel for every time I have been told an album was going to change my life, I would not be taking out loans or selling a kidney to stay in school. Everyone talks about how so and so's new album will change your outlook on X. I tend to get excited when told about said album and rush out and buy it, only to be disappointed by an album that sounds just like everything else being put out at the time. Then my cousin told me about the new Angels & Airwaves album, LOVE. To hear him talk about it you could have sworn he had discovered a new religion. Already being a fan of the band I thought I would go out to buy it, only to find out you can't buy it. Turns out the band is giving away this full length album for free on their website. Now this threw the whole album in a different category, a free album had to be short and utterly disappointing, right? Well the album is almost an hour long and is, to put it mildly,amazing.

Angels & Airwaves formed back in 2005 when Blink 182 guitarist Tom DeLounge parted ways with the band. DeLounge then proceeded to form an alternative super group of sorts, recruiting David Kennedy of Over My Dead Body, Adam Willard of the Offspring, and Matt Wachter of 30 Seconds To Mars. LOVE is the third album by the group.

First thing you need to do after you download this album is listen to it front to back. The tracks are made to flow together and you miss a lot if you skip around. They are planning to turn this into a movie or so the rumors go so that should be interesting. Since I always analyze albums though, here are some highlights.

Hallucinations was the first single off the album and rightfully so. This song is a show and tell of sorts for the album. There are high flying guitar rifts, heavenly sounding keyboards, and that ever identifiable voice of DeLounge's. This song sticks out to because of the bridge. It creates this forward motion that never stops and then builds till it explodes in a flurry of keys. Listen for the drum tag at the end, it feels like a throw back to classic punk.

Young London has to be my second favorite song off this album. A kind of weekend anthem, the song always presses forward. Don't get thrown by the intro, remember what I said about things flowing together. This song is carried through the verses by the vocals and it isn't till later that things really develop, but the vocal melody is astounding and carries the song well. The end of the song is actually the beginning of the next song, that's why it sounds different.

Epic Holiday is the call to arms of this album. A very spacey sounding number, this song will brighten even the lousiest days. The versus drive excellently into the chorus, which peaks and settles back down. After the second chorus the band hits a bridge that leaves the listener suspended in air and then catches them just before they start to fall. Beyond all this, just listen to the words.

My favorite track off this album is Letters to God, Part II. A continuation of a Box Car Racer song, this song is, simply put, epic. Like Epic Holiday, you just need to listen to the vocals to understand why they are so good. The focus of this song is the vocal melody so most of the song everyone else is laying low. This being said do not ignore the instruments, they play a vital role in creating a masterpiece.

Even if you are a skeptic when it comes to Angels & Airwaves remember this, this album is free. So go download it and give it a try. Who knows, you may find yourself humming the rifts of the songs. This album will change you in someway. I know that sounds cliche but I would not say it if I did not mean it.

Always Listening,

Nick