2008 Woodie Awards
+44 is the new and improved Blink-182
Melanie Pugh
Issue date: 12/5/06 Section: Entertainment
Add Los Angeles, Calif.-based +44 to the list of post-Blink-182 bands formed after Blink members, drummer Travis Barker, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge and bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus began a questionably permanent hiatus in 2005. Even before the break, DeLonge and Barker teamed up to release a self-titled album as Boxcar Racer in 2002, featuring Hoppus. Barker also formed his own band, The Transplants, who also released a self-titled debut in the same year. Recently, DeLonge launched Angels and Airwaves, a name trademarked by DeLonge before Blink's split, with debut album, We Don't Need to Whisper and hit single, "The Adventure," and met the most success of any of the independent ventures thus far, that is, until +44.
Hoppus and Barker, along with two of their long-time friends formed +44, a nod to the international dialing code of the United Kingdom, where the project was first discussed. The band's first single, "When Your Heart Stops Beating" was released in September of this year and followed by an album of the same name, released Nov. 14, selling more than 65,000 copies in two weeks. Make sure to pick up the version of the album with the green cover art, as many stories only stock the edited version in blue.
A total of 12 tracks make up the U.S. version of the album, two of which feature female vocals, a rarity in this historically boys only club. Former guitarist and vocalist Carol Heller is featured on "No It Isn't" and "Make You Smile," but left the band early on to start a family. She was replaced by Shane Gallagher and The Transplants' Craig Fairbaugh, and the foursome is currently content with their lineup.
The album, more mellow and less catchy than the traditional Blink-182 sound, still holds its own. Though reminiscent of Blink's later work, +44 is undoubtedly original. The subject matter is deeper and the sound is much more mature, a stark contrast from the slap-happy trio that produced "What's My Age Again?" The album does, however, take a sour turn and refer to Blink's breakup and "the ugly feelings that were left over afterwards," as Hoppus told MTV. In "No It Isn't," quite possibly the best track on the album and released last year on DeLonge's birthday, Dec. 13, the lyrics refer specifically to DeLonge's departure from Blink-182, "Please understand/ this isn't just goodbye/ this is I can't stand you."
Much more than just a sob story, though, When Your Heart Stops Beating is sure to please with every track. Though Blink-182 will always live on in punk rock history, +44 is very much alive, and it is painstakingly clear that Blink should have given Mark much more of Tom's mic time.
Hoppus and Barker, along with two of their long-time friends formed +44, a nod to the international dialing code of the United Kingdom, where the project was first discussed. The band's first single, "When Your Heart Stops Beating" was released in September of this year and followed by an album of the same name, released Nov. 14, selling more than 65,000 copies in two weeks. Make sure to pick up the version of the album with the green cover art, as many stories only stock the edited version in blue.
A total of 12 tracks make up the U.S. version of the album, two of which feature female vocals, a rarity in this historically boys only club. Former guitarist and vocalist Carol Heller is featured on "No It Isn't" and "Make You Smile," but left the band early on to start a family. She was replaced by Shane Gallagher and The Transplants' Craig Fairbaugh, and the foursome is currently content with their lineup.
The album, more mellow and less catchy than the traditional Blink-182 sound, still holds its own. Though reminiscent of Blink's later work, +44 is undoubtedly original. The subject matter is deeper and the sound is much more mature, a stark contrast from the slap-happy trio that produced "What's My Age Again?" The album does, however, take a sour turn and refer to Blink's breakup and "the ugly feelings that were left over afterwards," as Hoppus told MTV. In "No It Isn't," quite possibly the best track on the album and released last year on DeLonge's birthday, Dec. 13, the lyrics refer specifically to DeLonge's departure from Blink-182, "Please understand/ this isn't just goodbye/ this is I can't stand you."
Much more than just a sob story, though, When Your Heart Stops Beating is sure to please with every track. Though Blink-182 will always live on in punk rock history, +44 is very much alive, and it is painstakingly clear that Blink should have given Mark much more of Tom's mic time.
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poo
posted 8/08/08 @ 5:17 AM EST
heheheheheheheheheheeheh
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