Angels and Airwaves released their fourth studio album Nov. 1, titled “Love: Part Two” on the bands own label, To The Stars Records.
In accompaniment to their third album, Love: Part One, Angels and Airwaves’ new album continues the space theme and gives fans all the Tom DeLonge they love. Unfortunately, the album sounds much too similar to Love: Part One and doesn’t offer anything different than what’s been heard.
The collection of tracks on this album all have long play times, some even as long as five minutes. This means that the songs on this LP, for the most part, all have minute-long instrumental intros before any vocals are heard.
“Saturday Love” is the first song off the “Love: Part Two” album and sets the space mood for what’s to come on the rest of the album. The intro to the track sounds strangely similar to Daft Punk’s work on the “Tron: Legacy” soundtrack. It has an electro-synth dance music tune that sounds like something that could come out of a music box. For those a bit sensitive to foul language, the song is explicit, so be aware. Aside from that, the synth-infused track breaks into an upbeat rock song that highlights Tom DeLonge’s unique vocals. The mix of synth and rock sounds Coldplay-like, along the line of their “Speed of Sound” track. The song is not wholly original, borrowing sounds from their previous album and other pop-rock bands.
“Moon As My Witness,” another track off the album, is all rock ballad with its slower pace and its epic guitar solo. The song’s beat is reminiscent of a military march with its heavy drum melody. The track stays at this steady, rhythmic pace for the about three minutes and then suddenly the song breaks into a whimsical, spacey instrumental that makes the listener feel as if he’s out taking in the night sky or floating out around on the moon. The synth gives the track an otherworldly, far-out sound that fits perfectly with Angels and Airwaves’ space theme.
Track no. 11, “We Are All That We Are” rounds out the album with a smooth piano intro that sounds similar to indie-rock-pop-synth band Paper Route. The build-up of the piano gives the song so much potential, but the lyrics fall flat with their weak lyrics. It seems as if DeLonge, who wrote the lyrics, resorted to easy rhymes that show no complexity in lyrical skill. Although the looping piano gives the track a cool spin on the usual rock ballad, the lyrics kill the song. It’s sad because the song has potential with its epic guitar solo.
“Love: Part Two” is a nice attempt at continuing a cool theme, but it lacks ingenuity. Listen to their “Love: Part One” album; it’ll be easy to pick out the tracks that melody-wise are suspiciously similar. It’s sad because the band has so much potential to do something really great with the space theme. Don’t go looking for a solid album. It’s an easy listen but really has no substance and doesn’t show off any of the talent of the members of the band. Maybe DeLonge was too distracted with the reuniting of Blink-182, but nonetheless, that’s no reason to give a half-hearted effort.
