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The Orion

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The Orion

Study Break: Tom DeLonge ‘To the Stars’ album review

Tom Delonge .jpg
Courtesy of To the Stars, Inc.

After Tom DeLonge, co-lead singer and guitarist for Blink-182, very publicly split from his bandmates in January, he decided it was a good idea to release a studio album with a mix of his personal work and Blink-182 demos from a canceled album.

The album, “To the Stars … Demos, Odds and Ends,” came out on April 21.

The album has eight songs, all in the same punk-rock style that characterized Blink-182. Overall, “To the Stars” does not appear to be anything particularly special. A few of the songs have a taste of something that might be good, but most of the songs are easily forgettable.

“To the Stars” opens with the lead single “New World.” Unfortunately, in this “New World,” the single sounds old and completely like it has been done before.

The next song, “Endless Summer,” is probably the best song on the album, containing some of Blink-182’s sparkle. However, the song has a weird electronic layer sprinkled in the chorus that throws it off.

Also, the fact that a 39-year-old is still singing about summer and being with a teenage girl seems insincere and played out.

The ballad “Invisible Parade” is a refreshing break, but also feels long despite being only three and a half minutes.

The song “Golden Showers in a Golden State” closes the album.

No offense to our beautiful state, but haven’t we heard enough songs about California? It seems lazy to write a song in which “This is California, we fuck in California” is the main lyric.

Though the album is distinctly Blink-182 in style, it is more like a watered-down version of what made the band great. Delonge’s voice still sounds good, but the songs are missing the rawness of the group in its prime.

Greta Gordon can be reached at [email protected] or @hakunagretata on Twitter.

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