Spring Break
Former Band-Mates Find New Home
Michael Corsino
Issue date: 11/16/06 Section: Focus
The last year has been anything but pleasant for Mark Hoppus. After the end of legendary band Blink-182, it seemed as if the whole world had stopped listening to him. Through all the turmoil of a bitter breakup that found other Blink front man, Tom DeLonge forming a new band Angels and Airwaves, Hoppus seemed to be left in the dust.
Since then times have changed and he and other Blink band-mate Travis Barker are back with the debut album from + 44 titled, "When your heart stops beating."
The band was originally cast as an all-electronic project where Barker would play drums while Hoppus would sing alongside Carol Heller of Get The Girl. Instead Heller left the group and made way for guitarists Shane Gallagher (The Nervous Return) and Craig Fairbaugh (Mercy Killers) to turn this once computerize trio in a punk rock quartet.
The disc opens with the fast paced "Lycanthrope" which mixes fast paced drums, hard riffs and lyrics that make Hoppus seem as if he has been left behind in the ashes of Blink.
"I'm searching hard for a sign from heaven / but they've forgotten me here," he sings.
"Baby Come On" is the first time we hear the new sound of + 44, with an intro that sounds more like Outkast's, "Miss Jackson," combined with a fast paced chorus of huge drums and fast guitars. The title track, also the first single, "When Your Heart Stops Beating,"leaves more to be desired on this album. Although a fast paced, catchy anthem, this song is overproduced and the lyrics seem to drag on, lacking the ability to connect with the rest of the album in what seems to be an attempt at pulling in some of music's mainstream fans.
A standout track on the disc is "Little Death," which really separates this band from the Blink of old days. This song encompasses the sound + 44 was trying to achieve with a synthesized / electronic introduction that brings about the huge chorus, "Fall asleep with the windows open/ Come to me with the worst you've said and done / You'll close your eyes and see me / A little death makes life more meaningful."
Since then times have changed and he and other Blink band-mate Travis Barker are back with the debut album from + 44 titled, "When your heart stops beating."
The band was originally cast as an all-electronic project where Barker would play drums while Hoppus would sing alongside Carol Heller of Get The Girl. Instead Heller left the group and made way for guitarists Shane Gallagher (The Nervous Return) and Craig Fairbaugh (Mercy Killers) to turn this once computerize trio in a punk rock quartet.
The disc opens with the fast paced "Lycanthrope" which mixes fast paced drums, hard riffs and lyrics that make Hoppus seem as if he has been left behind in the ashes of Blink.
"I'm searching hard for a sign from heaven / but they've forgotten me here," he sings.
"Baby Come On" is the first time we hear the new sound of + 44, with an intro that sounds more like Outkast's, "Miss Jackson," combined with a fast paced chorus of huge drums and fast guitars. The title track, also the first single, "When Your Heart Stops Beating,"leaves more to be desired on this album. Although a fast paced, catchy anthem, this song is overproduced and the lyrics seem to drag on, lacking the ability to connect with the rest of the album in what seems to be an attempt at pulling in some of music's mainstream fans.
A standout track on the disc is "Little Death," which really separates this band from the Blink of old days. This song encompasses the sound + 44 was trying to achieve with a synthesized / electronic introduction that brings about the huge chorus, "Fall asleep with the windows open/ Come to me with the worst you've said and done / You'll close your eyes and see me / A little death makes life more meaningful."
Be the first to comment on this story