Angels & Airwaves - We Don't Need to Whisper
List Price:
Our Price: $7.10
You Save: $3.89 (35%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Music CD
See more CD details
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
CD Details
Artist: Angels & AirwavesEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2006-05-23
Music Label: Geffen Records
Soundtracks:
- Valkyrie Missile
- Distraction
- Do It For Me Now
- The Adventure
- A Little's Enough
- The War
- The Gift
- It Hurts
- Good Day
- Start The Machine
Music reviews of We Don't Need to Whisper
Music Review: I must say, their music matches the album cover quite nicely.
Rating: 4 Stars
As Blink 182 developed through the years, you could sense that Tom was growing more and more tired of the bright, upbeat, poppy sound they were known for. And although their music did darken up a bit in their self-titled disc, it wasn't enough for Tom, and that's why(if you ask me) he peaced, reappearing in the hugely ambitious project "Angels and Airwaves". With "We Don't Need To Whisper", Tom (with the help of his bandmates) has redefined himself as a musician. Gone are the playful "Roller coaster, favorite ride" lyrics of his Blink past. Gone are Blink's fast-paced, straight-to-the-point song structure.
Instead, the songs of "We Don't Need To Whisper" are long, dark and atmospheric. They use long intros, slow build-ups, and dramatic climaxes to create an ambitiously epic sound. The songs aren't dense at all; like the album cover, there's a distinctly "spacey" feel to it. Even Tom's vocals kind of float over top of the music. In sharp contrast to the short and staccato melodies of Blink-182, the vocals on WDNTW tend to liiiiike day I had to laugh a little as I fast-forwarded through "Distraction" and heard nothing but I swear the average (sung) note on this CD is 8.3 seconds long. Overall, I do like the sound. The melodies are pretty accessible, and with an average song length of about 5 minutes (as compared to Blink's 3 minutes) I feel like I'm getting my money's worth with each song. And the lyrics don't take anything away either.
The drawback to WDNTW is a lack of is variety. The loooooooonng notes get repetitive after a while, as does the slow rise/slow fall structure of the songs. But the actual melodies are the most formulaic aspect of their music. After a few listens to this CD I picked up on the formula they were using to create the hooks for most of the songs. If you notice, almost every chorus "resolves" on the last note: it starts out on some high-ish note, floats around for a while, and then comes down to match the key of the song. For example("resolved" note in CAPS):
Valkyrie Missile: "Everyone, everyone will lisTEEEEN"
Distraction be
The Adventure: "Hello, here i AAAAAAAAM......"
A Little's Enough: "I promise you this, a little's eNOUUUGH."
It Hurts: "Your best friend is not your girlFRIEND"
Good Day: "It's something I can't get my head
Start the Machine: "Then say it, I will liSTEEEEEEN"
You get the idea. Bands use this idea of "resolving" often to write their album's closer because it creates a grander, more complete effect. This definitely matches the epic feel AVA were going for. It's also why, at least to me, most of the songs on the CD sound like they should be closing an album. Independently, they're good and catchy, but listen to them all together and you're just like "Could you think of anything ELSE???"
Some of the albums highlights stick out from the pack exactly because they DON'T follow this formula. The verses to "The Adventure", which are exactly what perked a lot of folks' ears and got them interested in this band, are a prime example of this. The wonderful chorus of "The Gift", which soars much higher than the middlish-ranges you'll find on most of the songs, is another.
And now, some album awards:
Coolest Effect: The music-box effect is used very effectively on "Start the Machine", especially when combined with the drums at the end.
Best use of repetition: I don't know why, but I like it when bands reference earlier songs in a song, like when Vendetta Red sings the chorus of "In Lieu of Dead Bodies" in "Run" or Ra's rehash of "Do You Call My Name" in "The Only One". In WDNTW, somewhere in the middle of "It Hurts" Tom sings an almost exact copy of the pre-chorus ("Belieeeeeve, do you want this") in "The War". And my ears say "Huh. I like how they did that."
Worst Use of repetition: Amusingly, this comes from "It Hurts" as well. The chorus, both rhythmically and melodically, is VERY similar to the chorus of "A Little's Enough". It's almost as blatant as the nearly identical choruses of Breaking Benjamin's "You" and "Unknown Soldier" from Phobia. In this case, it's not intentional, it just comes from narrow songwriting.
Honorable Mention: Listen to the opening notes of "Good Day" and tell me if you don't immediately think of the "Hey oh, here I am" chorus of The Adventure.
Best use of non-words: This is a three-way tie between the "Oh-oh-oh-oh, oh, oh-oh-oh" bridge of "The War", the "No-ow oh, oh oh, oh oh, oh oh" bridge in "The Gift", and the "la, da da, da da, da da dah" bridge in "Good Day". All equally catchy and all equally singable. I almost think they should just do an entire CD of these.
Best Song: "The War", and it's not even close. There is some really tangible "rock" going on here; you don't have to pick through five and a half minutes of atmospheric spaciness to get to it. This song actually caught me off guard the first time I listened the album because I wasn't expecting the two snare hits right off the bat; I fully expected to sit through 90 seconds of slow build-up again.
Conclusion: The CD is too formulaic to be considered as a truly great work, but there are enough redeeming qualities that I can call it "good". If you're an impatient listener, you may not like AVA, because they're certainly in no rush to get through a song. The 3 best songs, coincidentally, are the 3 that begin with the word "The", so if you just want to see what the "We Don't Need to Whisper" sound is all about, download "The Adventure", "The Gift", and "The War". I look forward to seeing how they've pushed their musical boundaries in "I-Empire".
Description of We Don't Need to Whisper
Tom DeLonge knows how he'd like people to listen to We Don't Need to Whisper, the debut album from his new group, Angels and Airwaves. "I really want the room to be dark, with black light or a candle," he says. "People should have headphones on, and they should be really comfortable, maybe sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed. I spent a year and a half working on this record, trying my hardest to give people a moment of escapism. All I ask is 50 minutes of a lowered heart rate."In just over a decade with Blink-182, DeLonge went from the San Diego suburbs to the top of the world. The band sold over 20 million records worldwide, won a wide assortment of MTV awards, and sold out arenas everywhere from London to Tokyo.
So in early 2005, with Blink-182 on a break, DeLonge came to a crossroads. Rather than do a solo album or another version of his well-reviewed side project, Box Car Racer, DeLonge decided to start a new band. He recruited Box Car Racer guitarist David Kennedy, bassist Ryan Sinn (formerly of the Distillers), and drum god Atom Willard (previously of Rocket from the Crypt and the Offspring). The quartet headed into the studio?where they would try anything to find a new sound or a new song.
The name Angels and Airwaves popped into DeLonge's head while he was driving. He wasn't certain about the name at first, but then he realized that "Angels and Airwaves" abbreviated as "AAA"?and that if he inverted the middle A, it spelled AVA, which is also the name of Tom?s daughter.
"This is the next half of Tom DeLonge's life. If you liked anything that I did in the past, this is very much the next step."
"The magic of Blink-182 was that the three of us came together to create this amazing band," he says. "But now there's no holds barred. I get to be me completely with a new group of talented musicians. We are on a different intensity level with this record, and it's something that we can't wait to share with the rest of the world.
Alternative Rock CDs
Music Genres
Bestsellers in Alternative Rock CDs
Bouncing Souls - Maniacal LaughterRelease date: 1996-01-26; Music CD
Best price: $30.00
Blondie - Parallel LinesRelease date: 1994-07-29; Music CD
Best price: $397.77
Doors - L.A. WomanRelease date: 1993-04-09; Music CD
Best price: $99.99
Amon Duul - Phallus DeiRelease date: 1997-04-08; Music CD
Price in other shops:
Tangerine Dream - MelroseRelease date: 1990-10-02; Music CD
Best price: $74.98
Tangerine Dream - Private Music of Tangerine DreamRelease date: 1992-11-10; Music CD
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
![Ska Explosion [VHS] Image](/images/Ska-Explosion-VHS-6303381014-X.jpg){kind=small}
Ska Explosion [VHS]Cleopatra; Release date: 1995-02-28; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops:
![Little Earthquakes [VHS] Image](/images/Little-Earthquakes-VHS-6302488664-X.jpg){kind=small}
Little Earthquakes [VHS]Atlantic / Wea; Release date: 1992-11-10; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $12.50
Price in other shops:
Exileby Geoffrey Oryema
Music CD
Best price: $4.95
![Louder Than Live [VHS] Image](/images/Louder-Than-Live-VHS-6301627865-X.jpg){kind=small}
Soundgarden - Louder Than Live [VHS]A&M Video; Release date: 1991-07-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $202.44
Similar CDs
![Neighborhoods [Deluxe Edition] Image](/images/Neighborhoods-Deluxe-Edition-B005GFLRRY-X.jpg)
blink-182 - Neighborhoods [Deluxe Edition]Release date: 2011-09-27; Music CD
Best price: $9.14
Price in other shops:
Blink 182 - Enema Of The StateRelease date: 1999-06-01; Published: 1999; Music CD
Best price: $5.01
Price in other shops:
Blink 182 - Take Off Your Pants & Jacket (Dig)Release date: 2001-06-12; Music CD
Best price: $5.19
Price in other shops:
Blink 182 - Dude RanchBlink 182; Release date: 1997-06-17; Music CD
Best price: $4.39
Price in other shops:
Blink 182 - Blink 182Release date: 2003-11-18; Music CD
Best price: $4.80
Price in other shops:
Box Car Racer - Box Car RacerRelease date: 2002-05-21; Music CD
Best price: $6.64
Price in other shops:
(+44) - When Your Heart Stops BeatingRelease date: 2006-11-14; Music CD
Best price: $4.76
Price in other shops:
Angels & Airwaves - Love Part One & Part TwoRelease date: 2011-11-08; Music CD
Best price: $15.19
Price in other shops:
Angels & Airwaves - Love Part One & Part TwoRelease date: 2011-11-08; Music CD
Best price: $9.66
Price in other shops:
Angels & Airwaves - I-EmpireRelease date: 2007-11-06; Music CD
Best price: $4.98
Price in other shops: