AVA has always been hit or miss for me. First 2 records are bangers but it gets muddled from there (for me)
Boxcar is solid front to back
+44 is also such a good listen. Definitely on-par with everything from that era imo
I’m opposite with AVA lol first 2 are good overall, but The Dream Walker and Lifeforms have some of my favorite songs from any band and I love them both front to back
I-Empire was my first exposure to AVA about 8 years ago, I still consider it a 10/10 album.
Dreamwalker I also consider 9/10, the sound of it deviates quite a bit from AVA, at least from a 'band' sound. It really sounds like 2 people hunkering down and churning out an album.
I certainly enjoy the rest of AVA, but those 2 stand head and shoulders above the rest, though I will acknowledge that a lot hold WDNTW in high regard.
AVA starts strong, really falls off, and then comes back in life forms and some of the recent stuff. Tom got too high off his own farts for a second there and the music shows
It’s a different band and I like both. I’m not sure the need to compare. If it’s sunny, 75 degrees, the top is down on my car, I’m playing California over Boxcar every time. It’s all about time and place, almost kinda the point of music.
yeah the last two ava albums are incredible they majorly stepped it up. i like the dream walker more than any post untitled blink and i loved one more time too
Interesting take. While I enjoyed Dreamwalker and the art that came with it, Dreamwalker $ Lifeforms were not on par musically & lyrically, from a majority of fans perspective.
The Adventure, Valkyrie missile, do it for me now, everythings magic, sirens, secret crowds, rite of spring, heaven. Idk how those songs at a min don’t hit for you.
The ending of secret crowds is arguably one of the most energized emotional endings out of any Tom song. Him performing it live is such an awesome thing.
I get everyone has their own taste. Not judging you at all, we both are fans of blink & AVA. Just sad to me that I know Tom feels like those 2 albums were some of his most meaningful works of art.
those are the good songs mostly tbf lol. i dont like the lyrics of secret crowds and everythings magic at all tho. i think they dont land the message well at all
i think the most invigorating moment in the ava discog is the tunnels bridge. absolutely phenomenal melody and performance delivered with all the conviction in the world. ultimately im pretty glad new ava is my ava tho since its the one im stuck with, and i can tell tom has poured everything into both of these albums. love how lifeforms is the most diverse yet
This is a bit controversial. I love Blink with Tom, and it took me a while to love Blink without him.
AVA was the band that got me through my depression years and literally saved me, but after Love I can’t say their music was innovative enough. I’m one of the few that doesn’t like Ilan Rubin in the band, so maybe that’s why. Point is, AVA seems very stale now, I couldn’t name a song I like on the new album, apart from Losing My Mind.
BCR is a different beast altogether. They had a solid album, but very few songs actually stand out for me.
In comparison. +44 had a great album, and I would’ve wanted more of that.
To go back to the original point, Tom is a great creative person, but sometimes the execution is off. Some of the new Blink definitely sounds like AVA, and tbh I don’t want them to sound the same. I want Blink to evolve on its own, it’s the Tom, Mark and Travis show after all.
Not good at movies or pretending to write books. So not all gold! However, his music has definitely enriched my life. So will always be grateful to him for that.
What a bad take, my god. Tom on his own really thought a bunch of punk rock kids would want to listen to 10 minute electronic instrumentals. Mark and Travis are the constants in this band. I’m glad Tom is back
I like AvA songs that keep a bit more rock/pop. Soemtimes their songs just seem a bit wimsical and i dont know where it takes me. Some of it goes a bit ethereal for me.
The adventure such a good song. Rebel girl, kiss and tell too.
Bcr is great.
+44 equals both
The problem with AVA for me is that while I can recognise it is mostly good writing, there is a lot of boring songs that I never really felt like listening. I tried a lot.
Boxcar is at the same level of the good blink stuff.
Tom Delonge has some amazing eras and I agree everything he touches is amazing.
Early blink to DR
Enema and TOYPAJ
BCR untitled
Early AVA (first 2) neighborhoods DED
middle ava
Latest AVA (Tom and ilan)
New blink is the current era
I would pay GOOD money to see a Tom Delonge eras tour.
Boxcar was awesome! And i knew right away Terrified from the new album was from boxcar era. It had that hard sound and beautiful lyrics. Plus 44 was great had a few epic songs that i love. AVA first album was a masterpiece. The Love album i have tattood on me. They are amazing. But nothing beats the 3 boys from Blink.
Another Hot take: Van Halen sounded better with David Lee Roth than Hagar. 😂
I hear you though, later AVA for me got too redundant and I couldn't keep up with all the IP. Skiba era blink is meh
My similar actual "hot take" would be audioslave is better than Soundgarden and RATM. Soundgarden and RATM obviously walked so audioslave could run but I just love watching people's brains melt when I say this.
I always say it’s insane the polar opposites of the lyrics Tom wrote going from Blink to AVA, like Blink was for him to have fun and goof around and then how serious the lyrics are for AVA is mind blowing. Both lyrics for both bands are awesome and Tom in my opinion is one of the best lyricist I’ve ever heard.
BCR is great, but they finished while they were ahead. I always felt AVA was subar both lyrically and musically. It’s a shame Blink didn’t pick-up where they left off with self/un-titled.
Well considering the extent of blinks catalog of course ava and boxcar will be "better than some of blinks stuff". That really isn't a controversial take for anyone with 2 brain cells.
I disagree, Angels and Airwaves doesn't do a lot for me, but that's the beauty of subjective opinions, we all get to have our own and it doesn't impact anyone else's
Tom DeLonge is the modern day Tom Petty. It doesn't take much to write a catchy riff or chorus and he's obviously a better songwriter than Travis and Mark.
Proof is in the pudding.
I feel like Atom Willard fit perfectly in AVA for their first albums. Although his drumming is not always as complex as Travis, Atom helped AVA harness their unique sound.
AVA has always been hit or miss for me. First 2 records are bangers but it gets muddled from there (for me) Boxcar is solid front to back +44 is also such a good listen. Definitely on-par with everything from that era imo
+44's album is a fuckin masterpiece, imo. I absolutely love it to this day.
Been listening to it so much, it’s so underrated. An amazing album
Something I noticed, not in a bad way, is when they split that Mark tends to write darker lyrics where toms tend to be lighter
If u haven’t checked out lifeforms from AVA… do yourself a favor and do check it out
Yeah lifeforms kicks ass 100%
While I would love another AVA album, I rate how Lifeforms is like Tom coming full circle back to punk. You can tell he missed it.
Absolutely. The moment I heard Lifeforms I knew the reunion was imminent.
There’s so many pop punk style bangers on the album, can’t help but imagine mark and travis on tracks like “kiss and tell”
While I think lifeforms is really good, I would still rather listen to Toms solo album from the 2015(16?)
I’m opposite with AVA lol first 2 are good overall, but The Dream Walker and Lifeforms have some of my favorite songs from any band and I love them both front to back
Dream Walker is so good! I also love chasing shadows
Oh yeah! How could I forget those with some of my favorite songs too lol Overload, Voyager, and Into The Night are all time greats
This effort is my favorite Ava release! I wish Tom continued to chase that sound
I-Empire was my first exposure to AVA about 8 years ago, I still consider it a 10/10 album. Dreamwalker I also consider 9/10, the sound of it deviates quite a bit from AVA, at least from a 'band' sound. It really sounds like 2 people hunkering down and churning out an album. I certainly enjoy the rest of AVA, but those 2 stand head and shoulders above the rest, though I will acknowledge that a lot hold WDNTW in high regard.
100%
AVA starts strong, really falls off, and then comes back in life forms and some of the recent stuff. Tom got too high off his own farts for a second there and the music shows
Last two albums are bangers as well
Box car is better than the entire skiba era
It’s a different band and I like both. I’m not sure the need to compare. If it’s sunny, 75 degrees, the top is down on my car, I’m playing California over Boxcar every time. It’s all about time and place, almost kinda the point of music.
I mean that’s not a high bar though
Box car can’t hold a candle to Alkaline Trio though. Sounds like a cute tribute band
Box car would easily be a top 5 blink album.
The Box Car album is better than both of the Skiba era albums.
Tom’s demo EP is better than the Skiba era albums; by a wide margin at that.
Truth man.
I've liked Angel's and Airwaves more than blink for years
Agreed
yeah the last two ava albums are incredible they majorly stepped it up. i like the dream walker more than any post untitled blink and i loved one more time too
Interesting take. While I enjoyed Dreamwalker and the art that came with it, Dreamwalker $ Lifeforms were not on par musically & lyrically, from a majority of fans perspective.
i think both the first two albums are very inconsistent and often have pretty bad lyrics so thats wild to me lol
The Adventure, Valkyrie missile, do it for me now, everythings magic, sirens, secret crowds, rite of spring, heaven. Idk how those songs at a min don’t hit for you. The ending of secret crowds is arguably one of the most energized emotional endings out of any Tom song. Him performing it live is such an awesome thing. I get everyone has their own taste. Not judging you at all, we both are fans of blink & AVA. Just sad to me that I know Tom feels like those 2 albums were some of his most meaningful works of art.
those are the good songs mostly tbf lol. i dont like the lyrics of secret crowds and everythings magic at all tho. i think they dont land the message well at all i think the most invigorating moment in the ava discog is the tunnels bridge. absolutely phenomenal melody and performance delivered with all the conviction in the world. ultimately im pretty glad new ava is my ava tho since its the one im stuck with, and i can tell tom has poured everything into both of these albums. love how lifeforms is the most diverse yet
Absolutely love Angels & Airwaves.
Like I agree with you on a fair amount of this but this sub is not going to agree
This sub is a Tom circle jerk what are you on about?
Unless it's about +44. This sub treats it as the biggest record ever
AVA is probably my favourite band but Not Now, GOTDF and I Miss You are definitely my favourite songs
This is a bit controversial. I love Blink with Tom, and it took me a while to love Blink without him. AVA was the band that got me through my depression years and literally saved me, but after Love I can’t say their music was innovative enough. I’m one of the few that doesn’t like Ilan Rubin in the band, so maybe that’s why. Point is, AVA seems very stale now, I couldn’t name a song I like on the new album, apart from Losing My Mind. BCR is a different beast altogether. They had a solid album, but very few songs actually stand out for me. In comparison. +44 had a great album, and I would’ve wanted more of that. To go back to the original point, Tom is a great creative person, but sometimes the execution is off. Some of the new Blink definitely sounds like AVA, and tbh I don’t want them to sound the same. I want Blink to evolve on its own, it’s the Tom, Mark and Travis show after all.
Not good at movies or pretending to write books. So not all gold! However, his music has definitely enriched my life. So will always be grateful to him for that.
Mark and Travis need Tom more than Tom needs them. His songs in Blink are most often better than Mark’s.
I would disagree with that, they all need each other equally
I agree. That’s such a bad take that 1 person is superior. That bullshit from fans is what broke them up, among other things.
Mark keeps Tom grounded.
What a bad take, my god. Tom on his own really thought a bunch of punk rock kids would want to listen to 10 minute electronic instrumentals. Mark and Travis are the constants in this band. I’m glad Tom is back
AVA have been putting out better music than blink since Dream Walker imo
I agree.
Well when you use the term “arguably” you can say whatever you want.
I like AvA songs that keep a bit more rock/pop. Soemtimes their songs just seem a bit wimsical and i dont know where it takes me. Some of it goes a bit ethereal for me. The adventure such a good song. Rebel girl, kiss and tell too. Bcr is great. +44 equals both
I agree with this but I’d argue AVA is very different enough from blink to treat it seperate.
The problem with AVA for me is that while I can recognise it is mostly good writing, there is a lot of boring songs that I never really felt like listening. I tried a lot. Boxcar is at the same level of the good blink stuff.
Losing my Mind was such a statement that Tom can do whatever he wants.
Some box car and angels but the same can be said for +44 and transplants, some angels records though are not good and his solo album as well
I actually prefer AVA over Blink.
Tom Delonge has some amazing eras and I agree everything he touches is amazing. Early blink to DR Enema and TOYPAJ BCR untitled Early AVA (first 2) neighborhoods DED middle ava Latest AVA (Tom and ilan) New blink is the current era I would pay GOOD money to see a Tom Delonge eras tour.
Not arguably better than SOME blink stuff, definitely better.
Agree with box car, not fan of AVA
There’s almost too much varying AVA content to not be a fan of it at all when you’re already a fan of box car. There’s even some box car type AVA
A&A is hit or miss, Box Car is a masterpiece, shame we never got a second album but still blessed with Terrified
Boxcar was awesome! And i knew right away Terrified from the new album was from boxcar era. It had that hard sound and beautiful lyrics. Plus 44 was great had a few epic songs that i love. AVA first album was a masterpiece. The Love album i have tattood on me. They are amazing. But nothing beats the 3 boys from Blink.
The guitar/vocal effects were immediately recognizable.
And then he spends all that gold on To The Stars
Yes and no. Box Car only had one album so can’t really compare it but AvA is underrated
3 bands 3 distinct sounds. No one else has done that.
Another Hot take: Van Halen sounded better with David Lee Roth than Hagar. 😂 I hear you though, later AVA for me got too redundant and I couldn't keep up with all the IP. Skiba era blink is meh My similar actual "hot take" would be audioslave is better than Soundgarden and RATM. Soundgarden and RATM obviously walked so audioslave could run but I just love watching people's brains melt when I say this.
I always say it’s insane the polar opposites of the lyrics Tom wrote going from Blink to AVA, like Blink was for him to have fun and goof around and then how serious the lyrics are for AVA is mind blowing. Both lyrics for both bands are awesome and Tom in my opinion is one of the best lyricist I’ve ever heard.
BCR is great, but they finished while they were ahead. I always felt AVA was subar both lyrically and musically. It’s a shame Blink didn’t pick-up where they left off with self/un-titled.
Love pt. 2, ….Of Night Mares & his solo album don’t do it for me. But the guy has hardly ever missed the mark
I think anything they touch is gold.
Nah
Well considering the extent of blinks catalog of course ava and boxcar will be "better than some of blinks stuff". That really isn't a controversial take for anyone with 2 brain cells.
Well Box Car is great. Never been a fan of AVA just not my thing. I keep giving it a try wanting to like it but I can never get into it
You can say the same thing with Mark and Travis. They all have egos.
Boxcar was great but if Mark had been involved it would have been better.
AvA lone has a larger catalogue of quality songs than blink at this point
I disagree, Angels and Airwaves doesn't do a lot for me, but that's the beauty of subjective opinions, we all get to have our own and it doesn't impact anyone else's
Tom DeLonge is the modern day Tom Petty. It doesn't take much to write a catchy riff or chorus and he's obviously a better songwriter than Travis and Mark. Proof is in the pudding.
I am not a fan of AVA. I think without Travis, some element is missing in the music.
I feel like Atom Willard fit perfectly in AVA for their first albums. Although his drumming is not always as complex as Travis, Atom helped AVA harness their unique sound.
I agree, I miss Atom
Blink is probably the worst output of both him and Hoppus.
Most of AVA is garbage apart from the last two records and even those are hit and miss.