Review: Angels and Airwaves - 'The Dreamwalker"

Personally, no, I was never a very big Angels and Airwaves fan. I thought their music was fine, if predictable, and maybe a little stale. It seemed forced sometimes, with Delonge’s pedantic vocals leading the seemingly reluctant charge of musical ambition. Really, after a while, the songs blended together into one, long, half-decent song with a lazy melody.

So it came as a huge shock to me when, after one listen to their new album The Dream Walker, I was blown away with the veracity and the urgency and the musicality and the depth that the album offered. I was even more surprised at myself when the album ended up being #1 on my Albums of the year list.
The album is a knockout, one that has everything from nervous breakdowns to insanely catchy melodies to kick-ass funk anthems.

But the real word of the day when it comes to A&A’s latest endeavor is ‘unexpected’. The album is in no way predictable, changing tones from the urgent and head-banging, “The Wolfpack” (my favorite song of the year) to the slow, calculating “Tunnels,” the album seemingly touches a wide-range of styles and is able to excel in all facets.
In “Tunnels” much of the grandiose production (that A&A were known for) is cut to allow a powerful lyrical performance from front man Tom Delonge and it also allows the seemingly isolated drums (from the incredibly talented Ilan Rubin) to thunder deafeningly in the backdrop.

And in “Bullets In The Wind,” Ed Breckenridge offers a strong, funky bass performance, along with Delonge’s slick reverberated vocals to create a retro-like feel to the song; one that is as groovy as it is catchy.

Even “Mercenaries” starts out feeling more like a classic Angels and Airwaves song, with an increasing-in-tempo synchronizer but then after the intro, the song changes into this fantastic, pressing track that utilizes an eccentric chorus and powerful drums.

Angels and Airwaves were able to proceed and push past the ‘musical-block’ that Delonge seemed to be hitting after the most recent A&A releases to create something very, very good.