First off, let me take the criticism that i’m absolutely certain to get for saying this: I am a HUGE Blink 182 and AvA fan. Yeah, yeah… I know… “You hate auto-tune, but you love the undisputed king of it?”

Yes. Let me explain why.

I’ve always believed that if you’re going to use auto-tune to cover up your vocal shortcomings, you had better be one hell of a musician. There is absolutely no better example of that than Angels and Airwaves frontman Tom Delonge. The message of the music far surpasses what Delonge lacks when he sings. Their first album, “We Don’t Need To Whisper” is a shining, brilliant example of that. Widely criticized as being egotistical, pretentious and downright responsible for the breakup of Blink 182, Delonge set out to create something that was bigger than anything he’s ever done, and he definitely succeeded with the creation of AvA.
“Love” is the third album from the band, and also completely free. You can download it on their website.
I’ll say this much: this is NOT the quality you’d expect from something you can get for nothing. The first 5 tracks on the album are, in my opinion, brilliant. From the mood-setting, instrumental “Et Ducit Mundum Per Luce” to “Epic Holiday”, they really push the dynamics of this project to a level they haven’t seen before. Sure, the futuristic element and spacial, soaring sound returns with a vengeance, but you can hear the evolution almost sequentially with each passing track. “The Flight of Apollo” gives the feeling of looking out the window of a rocketship on the way to the moon, staring at something grand off in the distance, and the lyrics are your instructions on how to get to it.
“Young London” is a true arena rock anthem. It has that building, atmospheric sound to it that is nearly impossible to deny. The entire song is complete and never leaves you with the feeling of “it could’ve been better if…” at its 5:03 conclusion.
There’s a lovely, floaty transition into “Shove”, a song with ultimately compelling, passionate lyrics. “Show me the world that’s inside your head”, sings Delonge, while synthesizers and an infectious guitar riff plays rhythmically and complimentary behind him.
“Every single day, every 9 to 5, everybody works it hard, and then we finally die” are just some lyrics in “Epic Holiday”. “Hallucinations” is next, the first single from the album and a truly inspirational lyrical effort that tries to encourage people to live their dreams.
The first half of the album seems to launch you deep into the universe while giving you a very vivid description of everything seen, felt and heard along the way. The second half of the album seems to hang in orbit and describe at a slower pace, and quite frankly isn’t as memorable as the punch the first 6 songs deliver. Until you reach “Letters to God Part II” which blows the cover straight off the album. “Some Origins of Fire” finishes the journey with a vertical catapult from the foreign planet you feel like you went to, racing home with a hell of a story to tell.
“Angels and Airwaves is everything i’ve ever wanted to do”. That’s what Tom Delonge said when asked about whether or not Blink 182’s reunion will force an indefinite hiatus of AvA. That passion truly comes through with “Love”. Not my favorite of the three, but definitely worth listening to, and blows “I-Empire” out of the water.