2/3 of Blink continue the great music!!
E. Mukai | Hilo, HI United States | 11/26/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is seriously a great album. I have listened to it about 7 times through and like it more and more each time.
If you are like me, Blink 182s break-up was sad. I loved there sound since Dude Ranch and they were evolving and growing, so their songs were, too. Their strange and silent break-up was troubling.
In my busyness, I didn't keep up with the music news over the last year, and just happened by chance to catch info on Angels & Airwaves (AVA), former Blink member Tom Delonge's newly-formed band. But I missed this album, formed with Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker, the other 2/3 of Blink. So when I learned of it recently, I purchased it right away. Better late than never. Ironically, AVA came out with their second album, I-Empire, a few days before +44 came to me in the mail.
And after one listen to When Your Heart Stops Beating, though, I instantly took my allegiance to +44 in the +44 vs. AVA debate. Don't get me wrong, I love AVA and have listened to We Don't Need to Whisper a ton of times, but sometimes, I just want Tom to rock out, Blink-style. I-Empire features a few songs that touch on that energy a little, but mostly they are typical AVA ethereal songs and sometimes sound a little too much like the previous album's content.
+44 sounds truly like what Blink's next album would have sounded like. I feel it's superior to AVA in catchiness, energy, and of course, drumming (you can't beat Travis Barker in my opinion). I miss Tom's voice and writing, but I actually feel Mark & Travis (who are credited with writing the songs) out do him w/ this album. Lycanthrope, Baby Come On, title track, Little Death, 155, Chapter 13 especially stand out to me and are just great rock songs. Also great is the bitter "No, It Isn't" where they express their frustration about Tom's leaving Blink with lyrics like "This isn't just good-bye, this is I can't stand you....you're saying things, but talk is cheap, and my mouth is bleeding from trying to keep quiet" which incidentally is a song they released on his birthday.
I can't wait for the next album (see www.himynameismark.com) which is coming out in 2008. Really, if you liked Blink but felt AVA was not quite fulfilling enough, you need this album. Playing both of them has helped me get over the pain of losing Blink somewhat. But When Your Heart Stops Beating has been the most satisfying of any of the post-Blink projects."
A++ for Plus-44
Scott Goudailler | Southern New England, USA | 01/24/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"First things first...DO NOT compare +44 with Angels & Airwaves. DO NOT listen to either album hoping that it will sound like Blink 182. There may be "pockets" of similar rifts and tempos that may remind you of Mark, Tom, & Travis' former band but, in the end, each album is unique and stands up on it's own two feet.
With that being said, let's get down to my review of +44. For me, this was one of those albums that the more I listened to it, the more it rewarded me. Being a HUGE Travis Barker fan, my first spin through the album was soley to listen to his amazing talent. He cranks out phenomenal bang-on-your-steering-wheel beats. His transition between the slower, soft beats to the harder, edgier ones are seamless. My second time through I was more focused on Mark. Although he may not be the best vocalist in the world, he makes up for it with his lyrics. Some of them catchy, many of them moving. I'm very tempted to say that this CD could be a "break up" album for someone. Alot of the lyrics are pretty powerful and moving as sung on such ballads as "Lillian", "Weatherman", and "No it Isn't".
I think that's what impressed me the most about this album: The variety of songs that are performed. They didn't try to come out and rip hard rock on every song. They incorporated the piano beautifully between, and sometimes with, the guitar riffs on such tracks as "Little Death", "Make You Smile", and my personal favorite: "Weatherman". Even the song "Make You Smile" (which features the vocals of Carol Heller) doesn't seem like it belongs on the album but, it ends up fitting in perfectly with the tone of the rest of the CD.
What +44 has done on this album is not groundbreaking by any means. All it is is just great musicians playing great music. Isn't that all we really want?"
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1