Review

Angels & Airwaves have always been a tricky band to review. For one, they're an emotionally charged alt-rock band that go against everything that (most of) the founding members built their career on; tongue-in-cheek pop-punk. Readers who are just now discovering AVA (as they're abbreviated) should know that the band was founded by Blink-182 frontman and guitarist Tom DeLonge with Atom Willard, drummer from The Offspring. So it was with this combination that the darker, dare we say, "deep" sound of Angels & Airwaves came as a surprise to many.

That was four years ago, and the band just released their third studio album on Valentine's Day 2010 aptly titled LOVE. So how does the new album stand up with previous efforts? The honest answer is...pretty much the same. Angels & Airwaves haven't strayed far from the formula that got them here, and unfortunately many of the songs on LOVE sound nearly identical to previous releases. "Shove" shares the exact same chorus melody as the band's last big single "Everything's Magic" (2007) while many other songs on the album such as "Young London" and "Epic Holiday" leave you with the eerie feeling that you've already heard these songs somewhere else before.

However, for fans that prefer grander instrumentation to standard pop-punk fare, you've met your match. LOVE features a good handful of songs that exceed the six minute mark by implementing a nice mix of guitar solos and synth effects ("The Flight of Apollo," "The Moon-Atomic") which delivers a more powerful album.

The only distinguishing difference between each subsequent AVA album has been a decline in catchy songs and upbeat hooks. Because of the aforementioned arangement, LOVE continues this melodramatic downward trend. However, with all of that being said, we're still handing out a solid three out of five for this album because it fits the rating description perfectly; "good in it's genre." If you enjoyed either of AVA's previous albums, found yourself constantly spinning Boxcar Racer or enjoyed Blink-182's self-titled, more mature effort, then you'll love LOVE. But for everyone else that's always been on the other side of the fence, you won't find anything new or enjoyable here.

Review by Jason Schleweis

3 out of 5