Tom Delonge

To The Stars...Demos, Odds, And Ends

Written by: PP on 26/11/2015 22:03:01

Angels And Airwaves were always a little too lofty and fluffy for my taste, whereas especially older but also mid-era Blink 182 material just hit the spot. Oh, and Boxcar Racer, isn't it time to reunite this band and release a new album? If that describes your feelings about Tom DeLonge projects in the last decade or so, then you ought to take a listen to his debut solo album "To The Stars...Demos, Odds, and Ends", which according to DeLonge himself is a collection of song ideas from over the years that never made it into studio recordings before. Yes, this includes songs that were intended for a Blink 182 release in mid-2000s that never happened, including the rad, high octane punk rock track "Circle-Jerk-Pit" that is arguably the fastest and most aggressive cut from any DeLonge noted projects, full of distorted vocals and buzzing riffs left unpolished for good reason.

"An Endless Summer" is perhaps even more so a Blink 182 track targeted at fans of the "Take Off Your Pants & Jacket"-era. It's one of the best songs DeLonge has released in years, precisely because it sounds like Blink from the good old days. Same with "Golden Showers In The Golden State" that basically sounds like a b-side to "Enema Of The State". In comparison, "Suburban Kings" sounds more like an Angels And Airwaves song. Meh. Same with the stratosphere-laden "Landscapes" that is riddled with pointless electronics and shoegaze melodies that go absolutely nowhere. "The Invisible Parade" is a nothing saying acoustic ballad, and "Animals" is just a weird attempt at folk rock atmosphere blended into Angels And Airwaves.

As such, "To The Stars..." is a bit of a mixed affair. It's basically a b-sides record shared across all three bands DeLonge has been involved in, and simply put, the Blink 182 songs are just vastly superior compared to the Angels And Airwaves material, especially in a b-side form which is exposed bare here. My advice? Check out the record for "An Endless Summer", "New World", "Golden Showers In The Golden State" and "Circle-Jerk-Pit" if you're a Blink fan, ignore everything else.

Download: An Endless Summer, Circle-Jerk-Pit, New World, Golden Showers In The Golden State
For the fans of: Blink 182, Boxcar Racer, Angels And Airwaves
Listen: Facebook

Release date 21.04.2015
To The Stars

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