Angels and Airwaves
We Don't Need to Whisper

Release Date: 2006 | Tracklist

Tom Delonge. What do you think of when you hear his name? Hilarious? Excellent songwriter? Crazy live show with his blink bandmates mark hoppus and travis barker? Well, what about epic? ... i wouldn't have guessed it either. But somehow he pulled it off. And quite well, i might add. After his breakup with the international pop-punk sensation Blink-182, Tom delonge decided it was time to grow up out of the whiney, smart-ass, and somewhat immature songwriting rut that he seemed to be stuck in for the past decade, and go for something a little more mature. Tapping into the musical genius of Rocket from the Crypt and the Offspring, Tom, along with David Kennedy (guitar), Ryan Sinn (bass), and the infamous Adam Willard (drums) created something one could almost say "other-worldy". Taking pages straight out of U2's musical playbook

The title "We Don't Need To Whisper" came from the first recording session when Tom was testing out mic levels. He said it, and the title stuck. The album is somewhat of a concept album, but without the useless 37 second tracks of noise and nonsense that supposedly "makes the concept album come together". It's a very straight-forward, and no b.s. album that will catch your attention from the very beginning. The first track, Valkyrie Missle, starts off with a minute and a half intro of dialogue between an astronaut in outerspace, and ground control. Surrounded by excellent synths, samples, guitars, and effects, it truly sets the mood for the rest of the album, which is based on space, war, love and death. All of which, as Tom continues to point out in his endless amount of interviews, are looked at from a positive perspective. The songs look at the hopeful side of life, instead of the cliche pessemistic views most other bands emphasize in this genre. Followed by songs like their first single "The Adventure", they again put the emphasis on the electronic, digital feel that they sought throughout the album. "The War", "The Gift", and "Good Day" bring the album together with lines like "I’ll stop the storm if it rains, I’ll light a path far from here, I’ll make your fear melt away,
And the world we know disappear", AVA display their terrific musicianship and songwriting abilities. The highlight in the album comes in the song "The War" when during the bridge, Tom belts out somewhat of a "breakdown" with a perfectly written series of "Oh Oh Oh's" spanning the entire bridge of the song. Making the song, and also the entire album come into perfect view with the listener. Throughout the album, you will notice how perfectly the album was produced, from high quality sound effects, to the ballsy use of a glokenspiel in Start the machine. Everything flows together perfectly in almost every way. The only thing i would want different is the exclusion of the live bonus track of "Do it for me now". It sounds exactly the same as the original, only with your standard crowd cheers and sing-alongs in the background. It doesn't fit with the theme of the album, and it takes away from the overall effect.

Critics have said that Tom's voice is annoying and is terrible to begin with. But at least in blink he fit the genre. I agree, his voice can be unbearable at times, but what sets this band apart IS tom. No one in their right mind would think of creating a band with a serious, yet positive outlook on life as their outline for their writing, then put the guy who used to put on the most vulgar and offensive live show imaginable as the frontman. Theoretically, it shouldn't work. But it does. It's so different from anything else out there, which is a huge breath of fresh air among the cliche writing that exists in the pop-punk genre today. There will and are critics. But if you listen to this album, start to finish, you will understand its reason for existence and more importantly, the meaning behind the album itself.

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3.1 good

Rank: #174 for 2006