Started as a side-project by Tom DeLonge in 2002, Box Car Racer brought out a musical side of him we hadn't yet seen reflected in Blink's albums. The premier and only album for BCR was filled with dark, emotional rock music that sounded somewhat similar to Blink's self-titled album that was yet to come out.
Personally, BCR were one of my favourite bands, and I find some of the songs to be very creative and eye-opening. Their songs are different to the usual teenage breakup lyrics we knew Tom for; they're religious, remorseful, and promote strong messages about the value of life.
Songs such as "Watch The World" and "Letters To God" are slow songs, that have a heavy guitar breakout towards the end, but it is easy to understand what the meaning of the song. The two biggest hits off of the album are "There Is" and "I Feel So". It's a shame that BCR never got to produce more songs after their debut album, but if that had happened their would of been no Angels & Airwaves.
Posted below are the two popular songs mentioned previously.
After a 7 year break since their last album, Blink 182 released their new album “Neighborhoods” on the 28th of September, 2011. Being a massive Blink fan, I was very excited to see what this new album would contain and whether the Blink of old had returned.
The Blink 182 most people know are not here anymore because their sound has changed dramatically. Long gone are the days of adolescent punk songs like “Dammit” and “M&M’s”, Blink’s new sound is much more mature and “mainstream”. Usually the words mainstream and Blink 182 would not go well together, but Tom, Travis and Mark have made a great combination of their unique sound and the style of music that is popular today. Tom sounds much more like himself when in Angels & Airwaves rather than when he was in Blink, his voice doesn't really fit with the sound, but I'm hopeful he will adjust. Mark and Travis are still the same awesome guys we've known since "Cheshire Cat".
Overall I would give this album 8/10 because the quality is good, especially for a group of guys that had been on a hiatus for such a lengthy time. My favourite songs are “Ghost on the Dancefloor”, “Even if she falls” and “Hearts all gone”. The album will not blow anyone’s mind out of the water, but it is still a good, solid attempt. While I hope in the future that Blink will return to their old punk rock ways, I believe this style of music is a sign of them growing up, which as painful as it is to say, happened a long time ago.
I am disappointed to see Blink move completely away from their previous punk rock sound (yeah, thanks Tom DeLonge) but I am thankful they are back together and writing music once again. Tom is clearly the link in the band, as in if he quits Blink falls apart so Travis and Mark have to adapt to his style of music. As a result, “Neighborhoods” is a very eccentric and cinematic style of music unknown to Blink fans before this new album.
Attached are the music videos for the songs "After Midnight" and "Up All Night" respectively.
Tom DeLonge caused a lot of anger among his fans when he left famed Punk Rock band Blink-182 to start a new band, playing the music that he aspired to create. Though the falling out may have been unexpected to some, it was very predictable that this was eventually going to happen. Box Car Racer, his first side project, were actually a great band that recorded some darkly themed, punk rock songs. However, Angels & Airwaves brought out a musical side to DeLonge that not many new existed.
Blink’s self-titled album provided a complete change in musical genre, moving from their previous teenage heartbreak punk sound, to a much more dark, heavy and grown up side of music. Though, Angels & Airwaves was another giant leap in the same direction. Known shortly as AVA, the band pursue a cinematic rock sound themed by love, religion, and freedom. Many people have chosen to be extremely skeptical over AVA, because they believe no band DeLonge is in will ever be as good as Blink. I used to be one of these people, but having given a listen to AVA’s songs, I realized that they’re truly a magnificent and unique sounding band that deserve much more recognition than they get.
Angels & Airwaves display emotion in their songs that most musicians would be afraid to display. It is noticeable how passionate the bands seems about the messages conveyed through their music, and it is always a pleasure listening to them. I have selected two of my favourite songs by them for your listening pleasure.
