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Angels & Airwaves

We Don´t Need To Whisper

Written by: PP on 12/05/2006 13:11:57

"This is the best album in 20 years" (c) Tom Delonge. Allow me to laugh: Hahaha! Ok now that I've gotten that out of my system, we can get into the actual review of the most hyped debut album ever, namely Angels & Airwaves' "We Don't Need To Whisper". Some may call them the newest 'supergroup' as their members boast of an extensive CV of ex-bands, with Blink 182, The Distillers, The Offspring and Boxcar Racer all represented, contributing to the colossal hype the album has received.

Is the hype deserved? Absolutely not. This album features nothing that hasn't been heard a million times already on the Boxcar Racer album or the latest Blink 182 album. "It Hurts" sounds frighteningly much like some Blink 182 songs, with the only difference being the lead guitar going down a scale instead of up, and "The War" could've easily been on their self-titled album. The entire album is filled with strange effects like on the fourth track "Do It For Me Now", which uplift the album to a sky-high level, where it dwells about without any meaningful purpose. Tom's vocals sound like they're floating around the space, and his lyrics contemplate serious matters, but how can you take a man seriously who previously sang the famous lyrics "Piss sh*t c**ksucker motherf**er..." in his previous band?

Aside from the few exceptionally good tracks like "The Adventure", the album isn't worth much more than your average slowed down pop punk album (=music for the masses). What made Blink 182 so great was the fact that they were FUN to listen to. Angels & Airwaves take the fun out of their otherwise great potential even more so than the latest Blink 182 album did to their music. I'm sure this will appeal to millions of MTV/radio listeners out there, but anyone who spends his days gaining insight into the music scenes will know that tonnes of better bands are out there waiting for discovery. The staggering mediocrity of this album is just not something you'd expect from a starstruck lineup like theirs. Don't be fooled by the smart marketing tactics used by Tom & Co, as this isn't even the best album of the week.

Download: The Adventure
For the fans of: Blink 182, Boxcar Racer
Listen: Myspace

Release date 23.05.2006
Geffen