The Dream Walker | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | December 9, 2014 | |||
Recorded | June 2013 – October 2014 | |||
Studio | Jupiter Sound, San Diego, California | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 40:05 | |||
Label | To the Stars | |||
Producer | Tom DeLonge, Aaron Rubin | |||
Angels & Airwaves chronology | ||||
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Angels & Airwaves studio album chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Dream Walker | ||||
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The Dream Walker is the fifth studio album by alternative rock band Angels &Airwaves,released on December 9,2014,through To the Stars. [1] The album marks major changes in the band's lineup and production,as it is their first album to feature drummer Ilan Rubin,the first since We Don't Need to Whisper to not feature bassist Matt Wachter and the only album not to feature guitarist David Kennedy. It is also their first without longtime producer,Jeff “Critter”Newell,who died in 2012. It is instead co-produced by DeLonge and Aaron Rubin.
Originally intended to be titled Poet, [2] The Dream Walker proved to be a remarkable shift in style from progressive styles to a rawer sounding alternative rock. Lyrically,it is a concept album that focuses heavily on exploring and understanding dreams. The album was recorded entirely by DeLonge and Rubin,who both took on multiple instruments during the process. On May 4,2016,the band released a new album consisting entirely of demos from The Dream Walker studio sessions including older takes and five previously unreleased tracks. [3]
Coming into recording with Rubin as the band's new drummer,DeLonge wanted to "do something that is a left turn from what people know of Angels and Airwaves," while also being eager to explore the concept of dreams for a long time. [4] Following the Love project,he felt that many of the songs had begun to sound the same,and wanted to take a major shift in style by bringing in new people for the songwriting and production. This resulted in DeLonge and Rubin being the only composers on the album,while also bringing in Rubin's brother,Aaron,as the band's new producer. [5] [6]
Much of The Dream Walker's recording focused on DeLonge and Rubin learning about how each other record. This resulted in letting Rubin do most of the composition while DeLonge acted as the primary lyricist,but also acted as a co-composer. During the production,DeLonge heavily praised Rubin's talent as a musician:
“Ilan is the best multi-instrumentalist I’ve met in my life. He plays drums with Nine Inch Nails and he’s an incredible drummer,but he’s better at guitar than I am and he’s the best piano player that I’ve ever seen in my life! I grew up in a punk rock scene that was built as a vehicle to express emotion,but Ilan grew up as a fanboy of Led Zeppelin,The Beatles and Queen. When you mix those two worlds together,musically it became much more diverse. Ilan is the kind of guy that’ll sit there and read a manual until 4 in the morning on how to create his own synthesizer sound through a bunch of oscillators and I’m the kind of guy that’ll throw a bunch of paint on a canvas and go,‘Wow,that’s fucking cool!’so we’re polar opposites and I think that’s why we became a really good pairing.”- Tom DeLonge [7]
Much of this recording process was documented for a video series on the band's YouTube channel. [6] [8] [9] [10] While Kennedy and new bassist,Eddie Breckenridge,were not part of the process,DeLonge confirmed that they were still involved with the band,but via non-recording duties. [7]
The Dream Walker was a part of a multimedia project titled Poet Anderson,which also included a comic book,short film,novel,and the band's following EP ...Of Nightmares. [11] The project was officially announced on October 6,2014 with the release of the album's promotional single,"Paralyzed." This announcement also included a teaser for October 31 of that year,which would be the beginning of official releases for the project. [5] This eventually became the release of the album's first single,"The Wolfpack," on that day,which was followed by its corresponding music video on November 14,2014. [12] [13] [14] Additional singles,"Bullets in the Wind" and "Tunnels",were released on November 17,2014 and December 3,2014 respectively. [15] [16]
The short film that coincides with the album, Poet Anderson:The Dream Walker ,premiered on November 14 at the Toronto International Short Film Festival,for which it won Best Animation. [17]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 66/100 [18] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [19] |
Alter the Press! | [20] |
Rolling Stone | [21] |
KillYourStereo | 93/100 [22] |
Rock Industry | 8/10 [23] |
Rock Sound | 7/10 |
inveterate.co.uk | 7/10 [24] |
Alternative Press | [25] |
DIY | [26] |
The Dream Walker received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic,which assigns a weighted average out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics,the album has received an average score of 66,based on 6 reviews,indicating "generally favorable" feedback. [18] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic rated the album three out of five stars,writing that it has "more texture and dimension than Love and,ultimately,it's that expansiveness that gives the album character instead of the convoluted cross-platform narratives." [19] Tom Connick of DIY unfavorably described the album as "little more than an extended yawn of spacey synths". [26]
The Dream Walker debuted at number 39 on the Billboard 200 with first week sales of 19,088 copies in the United States. [27]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Teenagers & Rituals" | 3:53 |
2. | "Paralyzed" | 4:09 |
3. | "The Wolfpack" | 3:53 |
4. | "Tunnels" | 4:10 |
5. | "Kiss with a Spell" | 4:36 |
6. | "Mercenaries" | 4:37 |
7. | "Bullets in the Wind" | 4:03 |
8. | "The Disease" | 3:57 |
9. | "Tremors" | 3:55 |
10. | "Anomaly" | 2:52 |
Total length: | 40:05 |
Credits adapted from AllMusic [28]
Angels & Airwaves
| Additional personnel
|
Chart (2014) | Peak position |
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UK Albums (OCC) [29] | 94 |
US Billboard 200 [27] | 39 |
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard) [30] | 5 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [31] | 183 |
Thomas Matthew DeLonge is an American musician best known as the co-founder, co-lead vocalist, and guitarist of the rock band Blink-182 across three stints: 1992 to 2005, 2009 to 2015, and again since 2022. He is also the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Angels & Airwaves, which he formed in 2005 after his first departure from Blink-182. DeLonge is noted for his distinctive nasal singing voice.
We Don't Need to Whisper is the debut studio album by the American rock band Angels & Airwaves. Recorded at Neverpants Ranch in San Diego, California, and produced by guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge, the album was released on May 23, 2006, through Geffen Records. In February 2005, DeLonge, who wanted to spend more time with his family, quit Blink-182 after months of heated exchanges and increasing tension within the trio and spent three weeks in isolation, contemplating his life, career, and future in music.
Matthew Walter "Matt" Wachter is an American musician best known for playing bass in the alternative rock bands Thirty Seconds to Mars and Angels & Airwaves.
Angels & Airwaves is an American rock band, comprising lead vocalist/guitarist Tom DeLonge, guitarist David Kennedy, drummer Ilan Rubin, and bassist Matt Rubano.
Ilan Rubin is an American musician, producer, songwriter, composer, and artist. He is known primarily for playing drums with bands such as Nine Inch Nails, Paramore, Lostprophets, Angels & Airwaves and Danny Elfman In 2008, he formed The New Regime, where he sings and plays all instruments in the studio and plays guitar with a band for live performances. In 2021, Ilan released music for the first time under his name. His debut single "Talk Talk Talk" was remixed by Phantogram.
I-Empire is the second studio album by alternative rock band Angels & Airwaves. It was officially released worldwide on November 1, 2007 from the Angels & Airwaves website, where it was available for download. It was then released on CD on November 5 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and on November 6 in the United States and Canada. It is their first album to feature Matt Wachter on bass.
This is the discography of the alternative rock band Angels & Airwaves.
Love is the third studio album by the alternative rock band Angels & Airwaves. It was released on February 12, 2010, on Fuel TV, and on February 14 on Modlife. The album was released free of charge due to "corporate underwriting". A "special edition" hard copy version of the album was scheduled for release on March 22, 2011, along with a second disc containing new music from the band. This was announced at a Q & A for the movie, which stated that it would be delayed to fall 2011.
Love: Part Two is the fourth studio album by alternative rock band Angels & Airwaves, released November 11, 2011, via the band's own label, To the Stars Records. It follows 2010's Love, and its release coincides with that of the band's Love feature film, which includes music from the album. The first single from the album and respective music video, "Anxiety", was released on August 11, 2011. "Surrender" impacted radio on January 31, 2012. It is the final album to feature Atom Willard as the band's drummer and Matt Wachter as the band's bassist.
Dogs Eating Dogs is an EP by American rock band Blink-182, released on December 18, 2012 independently. Self-produced by the group, it was the sole recording that the band self-released after their departure from Interscope/DGC in October 2012, as well as their last studio recording with Tom DeLonge until 2022.
Poet Anderson: The Dream Walker is a 2014 American–Portuguese animated short film directed by Tom DeLonge, Edgar Martins, and Sergio Martins. The film focuses on the title character Poet, who discovers his guardian angel and destiny inside the Dream World, an alternate universe created by humankind's shared unconscious thoughts. The film features music from DeLonge's rock group Angels & Airwaves.
To the Stars... Demos, Odds and Ends is the debut studio album by Tom DeLonge. It was released on April 21, 2015 through DeLonge's multimedia company also titled To the Stars. The album To the Stars is said to contain tracks from DeLonge's "personal stash", which include songs originally intended to be recorded with Blink-182, as well as tracks originally meant for Angels & Airwaves. The eight-song album was released on vinyl, CD and digital formats.
...Of Nightmares is the second EP by alternative rock band Angels & Airwaves, released on September 4, 2015, through To the Stars. The EP is a companion piece to the novel written by Tom DeLonge and Suzanne Young, Poet Anderson... Of Nightmares, which is a part of the Poet Anderson franchise, also including The Dream Walker.
Chasing Shadows is the third EP by American alternative rock band Angels & Airwaves, released on April 8, 2016, through To the Stars. Similar to the ...Of Nightmares EP, Chasing Shadows is a companion piece to the first book in the Sekret Machines series, co-written by Tom DeLonge and A. J. Hartley. Along with the EP is a planned documentary series. It was the second EP released by the band following DeLonge's exit from Blink-182, before his return in late 2022.
"Rebel Girl" is a song by the American rock band, Angels & Airwaves. The song was released on April 30, 2019, as the first single for their album, Lifeforms, and is their first music release through Rise Records. The song was written by Tom DeLonge, Ilan Rubin, and Aaron Rubin.
"Kiss & Tell" is a song by the American rock band, Angels & Airwaves. The song was released on August 29, 2019, as a promotional single for the band's 2019 North American Tour, and appears as the final track on their sixth album, Lifeforms. The song was written by DeLonge, Ilan Rubin, and Aaron Rubin.
"All That's Left Is Love" is a song by the American rock band, Angels & Airwaves. The song was released on April 16, 2020 as a non-album single, though it was included as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of Lifeforms (2021). The song was written by Tom DeLonge, Ilan Rubin, and Aaron Rubin.
"Euphoria" is a song by the American rock band, Angels & Airwaves. The song was released on May 19, 2021, as the second single for their album, Lifeforms. It also marks the band's first release with bassist, Matt Rubano, as an official member. The song was written by Tom DeLonge, Ilan Rubin, Rubano, and Aaron Rubin.
Lifeforms is the sixth studio album by American alternative rock band Angels & Airwaves. The album was released on September 24, 2021, and marks the longest gap between albums for the band following 2014's The Dream Walker. It is the band's first album with bassist Matt Rubano, who replaced Matt Wachter in 2019, and the first with guitarist David Kennedy since 2011's Love: Part Two.
"Timebomb" is a song by the American rock band, Angels & Airwaves. The song was released on September 22, 2021, as a promotional single from the band's sixth album, Lifeforms. The song was written by Tom DeLonge, Ilan Rubin, Matt Rubano, and Aaron Rubin.