Angels & Airwaves - The Dream Walker
Angels & Airwaves are back with their fifth studio album; The Dream Walker.
The Dream Walker is an interesting release as it is part of a multi media package that will include a graphic novel, comic books, a short film, animations and videos that link to a character known as Port Anderson.
Angels & Airwaves have endured their fair share of criticism over the years, perhaps that has had a knock on effect on the band as Tom DeLonge is the only original member to what was once referred to as a "super group".
Teenagers and Rituals is a strong opening track; DeLonge's vocals are muffled rather than being instantly recognisable as the voice that sung numerous pop-punk anthems and is constantly imitated. The track has an extremely catchy and infection chorus which is guaranteed to get lodged in your brain.
The Wolfpack is another great track, which with a little tweaking could happily sit on a Blink-182 album. It is well written and well structured. The Wolfpack is definitely the standout track on the album.
Sadly, things mellow out after The Wolfpack and it is hard to remain focused on the album. Angels & Airwaves were probably hoping the slower tracks would trigger emotion but they actually just trigger boredom.
The Dream Walker is a mixed bag; it houses some great songs but also instantly forgettable tracks. DeLonge's work ethic cannot be faulted, a lot of work has gone into creating this package, but Angels & Airwaves may have been a tad too experimental for their own good with this release.