We've heard a lot about Tom DeLonge's new project for awhile now and the unveiling has finally happened. From the ashes of Blink 182 and Box Car Racer, DeLonge has put together a new band featuring David Kennedy (ex Box Car Racer), Atom Willard (ex-Offspring, American Hi-Fi, Rocket from the Crypt) and Ryan Sinn (ex-The Distillers).The music is far from the smart-ass rock of Blink and closer to the other project which reportedly played a hand in Blink's demise. I have to say that I can't really get behind this record. It kind of sounds like one long song. Each cut sounds like the previous, especially with the U2-style guitar.
And while Tom's vocals work well with the other bands' songs, here it just sounds like one big whine. The songs are all well crafted and there are lots of elements that should make it work but ultimately taken on a record-wide basis, I'm prompted to reach for the "stop" button.
There is a fair bit of work behind the project as a short film was created to accompany the record's release. It's based on the song "It Hurts" and it's a companion piece to the first video which is, "The Adventure". Both these videos are found on the band's website.
This is a puzzling record. I can't say it's a bad one because there really isn't a bad cut on here. However, I can't say it's a good one either.
