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Angels & Airwaves

Lifeforms

Written by: PP on 01/01/2022 15:46:17

Six albums in, Angels & Airwaves still haven't written a great album. In fact, most of their career has been plagued by mediocrity, save for maybe their last album "The Dream Walker" and perhaps "Love Part Two". Riding solely on the coattails of Tom DeLonge's notoriety through his past in Blink 182 but also through his conspiracy theories and UFOlogy organization To The Stars, they've been able to scrape by and draw in unsuspecting mainstream music fans via lofty, fluffy melodies while leaving music enthusiasts largely rolling their eyes with a question of 'why?'. The megalomaniac songwriting and insistence on writing songs better suited for the stratosphere than us regular down-to-earthlings hasn't worked thus far, but signs of vessel DeLonge returning to orbit were nonetheless audible on the last couple of albums. While not great, they were at least a decent listen throughout because of the more conventional songwriting and solid melodies those tracks offered.

Why, then, has DeLonge opted to return to the unnecessary spaciousness on "Lifeforms", their sixth album overall and first one in seven years, is a mystery. The songs are largely over-inflated fluff, only this time with additional electronic effects and the occasional dabble into heavier guitars like those on "Euphoria". Album highlight "Losing My Mind" sounds like a self-titled era Blink 182 song, a self-aware piece about DeLonge going crazy about people not believing in extraterrestrial life despite his apparent claim of overwhelming evidence for it. On the other hand, "Spellbound" offers 80s and contemporary rock vibes amidst its lofty melodies, whereas "Automatic" has eerie similarities to Boxcar Racer within its core.

Angels & Airwaves are at their best on songs like "Restless Souls". Here, tight guitars and a slightly elevated tempo result in a catchy pop punk tune, which - despite its overpolished vibe - makes a good impression overall. But when large swathes of the album are hollowly echoing pop/alternative like "Rebel Girl" with virtually no staying power, it just means the album as a whole just feels... empty. As usual, "Lifeforms" isn't a bad album as such. It just isn't interesting enough for music enthusiasts to matter in the grand scheme of things.

Download: Losing My Mind, Euphoria, Restless Souls
For the fans of: Thirty Seconds To Mars, Blink 182, Boxcar Racer
Listen: Facebook

Release date 24.09.2021
Rise Records / BMG