Customer Reviews

When Your Heart Stops Beating

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Mark and Travis have continued the Blink legacy. Though I miss Tom's voice on some tracks, I can easily have seen this album as a followup to the self titled last Blink 182 album. Though it has the fun punk-pop songs I love, it also has some maturity and experimentation. I like this much more than the Angels and Airwaves album which seemed so far removed from the Blink sound which I will always be a fan. Though I would have made Lycanthrope the first single, When Your Heart Stops Beating is a good up tempo song as well. If you purchase the album over at iTunes they include a bonus song which is just an acoustic very of "Baby, Come On". Pick this one up.

I think that Plus 44 is kind of picking up where Blink 182 left off. With the last few albums of Blink they showed a sense of maturity, and I think that sense of maturity has carried over with Mark and Travis. Some of the songs are a completely different instance than any individual Blink song, but you can just hear the Blink in some of them. I like the direction that Plus 44 seems to be going and the only thing I wish would be different about this album is add Carol back in. That'd give the band more of a vocal "edge," but oh well, Mark's voice is still pretty good. Admittedly it's not as good as Tom's voice, but it still has a certain desirable feature I don't know how to describe.

I would recommend any fan of Blink 182 or Boxcar Racer to buy this album. The song "Little Death" resembles some of Blink's slower songs, the song "Lycanthrope" resembles some of Blink's faster songs, and the song "No It Isn't" is something completely different. Actually No It Isn't is moreso emo than anything else, and normally I don't like emo, but this song catches my interest. The lyrics are amazing, the tempo is amazing, and the only thing that would have made the song better, again, is Carol's voice. (Actually, she used to have a major backup role in the end of the song but when she left the band her voice pretty much faded away from the song.)

Good album altogether, I'll be eagerly waiting for their next production.

The first song I heard by +44 was "No, It Isn't." That's fitting, because when I heard "When Your Heart Stops Beating" my first thought was "so this is what blink would've sounded like had they not broken up." Upon hearing the album, my first thought is a response to the former: "No, it isn't." Granted, some songs like "Cliffdiving," "155," and "When Your Heart Stops Beating" sound like they could've been taken off of what would've been blink-182's seventh full-length album. Putting that idea aside and focusing on the album as a whole, +44 have created a beautiful debut album which is both familiar and unique at the same time. Stealing a line from "Baby Come On," "Isn't there something familiar about me? The past is only the future with the lights turned on." I think one of the best songs on the album is "Make You Smile," which sounds like it could've been a b-side to Death Cab For Cutie's Transatlanticism. Another band that this album really brings to mind is Motion City Soundtrack, having a similar guitar style and the same steady beats. So to those of you who were hoping this would be blink-182 without Tom, then congratulations: Mark and Travis will not disappoint. And for those who wanted something new: listen to "Weatherman" and "Little Death" and tell me that Mark isn't broadening his horizons.

And for the record, I loved Angels and Airwaves album as well. So I'm not picking sides.

+44's debut is worth your time and money. I was heartbroken when Tom left Blink 182, I always liked Blink a lot. +44 is definitely not Blink without Tom, Mark and Travis have gone in a different direction. However, it is a direction worth exploring. +44 is more lyrically driven with Mark's husky vocals highlighted. Travis is, as always, technically spectacular - the drumming is tight as ever. +44 isn't going to knock your socks off, you're not gonna rock out, the tunes are still pulsing punk, but they're softer. Stand out tracks are:

When Your Heart Stops Beating

155

No It Isn't

Make You Smile

After a few days of listening to the album I also really like:

Baby Come On

Lilian

Clifdiving

Chapter 13

That's eight solid tracks. Check this album out, support Mark and Travis.

Being a HUGE Blink-182 fan, it was sad to seem them breakup. However, after the release of this HIGHLY anticipated album, I am happy they did. (+44) is exceeded my expecations by a lot. Unlike Angels & Airwaves, (+44) chose to evolve the familar Blink sound and it works well. Mark wrote the best songs of his career, not to mention, it's good to here him on every song and not have to cringe listening to a song with vocals from Tom. The whole album is perfect, and I mean perfect. I listen to this album non stop. I love all the songs, but if I had to pick three favorites I'd probably go with "When Your Heart Stops Beating," "Little Death" and "Lycanthrope." As much of a Blink fan I am, I am happy with the results of +44. Mark and Travis, you guys did an amazing job with this album. If you don't have it, BUY IT! IT IS WORTH IT!

I had never really been much of a Blink 182 fan until their self-titled (and unfortunately, final,) CD. It really nearly reached perfection and it was unfortunate that afterwards, the band's singers, Mark and Tom, ran into disagreements on which direction to take the band. They released their own solo projects, Tom's Angels and Airwaves and Mark's +44. These CD's demonstrate which direction each singer had apparently wanted to take Blink 182 so owning both of them are pretty necessary for any Blink fan.

Plus 44 attempts to continue where Blink 182 left off with their darker CD. Unlike Angels and Airwaves, Plus 44 keeps the fast punk cords but keeps up the darker tone and the CD's certainly more even in quality than Angels and Airwaves's first effort. I just kind of wish Plus 44 had put more thought into a message they wanted to convey.

For example, there's no theme here, no real presentation. The CD simply starts, and continues with a bunch of songs. Rather than feeling like a CD put together with lots of thought, it's like listening to random songs selected off an Ipod. Although there's no introduction to the CD or band at all, the CD features an "interlude," which sounds completely out of place and doesn't fit in at all with the rest of the CD. While Angels and Airwaves put thought into their CD with things like a general theme to their songs, Plus 44's first CD seems just like Mark and his band simply recorded tons of songs, picked the best ones, and threw them on here.

Not that it's necessarily a bad thing. This is a collection of truly excellent songs here. And while it's definitely less ambitious than former bandmate Tom's effort, this is an overall more fun CD to listen to and is definitely easier to get into.

Lycanthrope; a great beginning to the CD. Really fast and melodic. Really excellent lyrics. Overall, great song. 8/10

Baby Come On; Gets off to a great start. Continues very well with great music and lyrics. A little forgettable, though. 7/10

When your heart stops beating; A really great song, again. Very catchy. 8/10

Little Death; It's an alright song. I didn't find its chorus all that good, though. 7/10

155; Really cool music, really catchy beat. Nothing truly special about it but a fun song. 7/10

Lillian; An excellent song. Great lyrics and overall great music. 9/10

Cliffdiving; Not a fan. Predictable and stale lyrics and kind of generic music. Sounds like an underwhelming Blink song. Filler. 5/10

Interlude; an "intermission" that sounds nothing like the rest of the CD and sounds out of place. It's got a good tune, but really, what's it doing on this CD? 6/10

Weatherman; heavy lyrics but a little too slow. Kinda boring. 5/10

No, It Isn't; basically a perfect song. Best lyrics on the CD and really great tunes. This one's a classic. 10/10

Make You Smile; Definitely a departure from the rest of the CD. A nice listen, even though it really feels slightly out of place, (the entire CD was at one point meant to sound like this song but they changed direction at the last minute. This is the remains of the electronic-tone the band originally wanted to go in) I'm glad it's on there, even though it's a bit out of place. 8/10

Chapter 13; Great end to the CD. Nice lyrics like the rest of the CD. Cool chorus and verses. 9/10

We have a CD here that's loaded with great songs. Many. Mark has shown that he has much more strength than Tom for writing lyrics, (something Angels and Airwaves struggled with in their first effort,) while Tom has shown much more strength at conveying a message or set theme and for variety. This CD just feels kinda thrown together and the songs are ALL love songs. Now...they aren't all songs about lust. The ones that are are the weak points of the CD. The strengths here are the very fast beats and the very interesting lyrics that keep things interesting. I still wish they would find something different to sing about, though. Overall, it's maybe a little better, although not necessarily as memorable, as Angels and Airwaves's first effort. Both CD's have their strengths and weaknesses. But just like that one, +44 is still behind where Blink 182 left off with their final CD. Songs here are all about love, and seem to be playing it a little safe, which is too bad, because the lyrics here are truly excellent, and I think Mark could write some great songs about other things if he tried. This is basically like Blink's final CD but even a little darker. Unlike that CD, though, which I gave 5 stars to, this doesn't have much variety. The songs here sound a little too similar to eachother.

It's worth owning all 3 CD's, (Blink 182, We Don't Need to Whisper, and When Your Heart Stops Beating) because they complement eachother very well. Hopefully this band will reunite someday, though, because that's where they're best.

First things first...DO NOT compare +44 with Angels & Airwaves. DO NOT listen to either album hoping that it will sound like Blink 182. There may be "pockets" of similar rifts and tempos that may remind you of Mark, Tom, & Travis' former band but, in the end, each album is unique and stands up on it's own two feet.

With that being said, let's get down to my review of +44. For me, this was one of those albums that the more I listened to it, the more it rewarded me. Being a HUGE Travis Barker fan, my first spin through the album was soley to listen to his amazing talent. He cranks out phenomenal bang-on-your-steering-wheel beats. His transition between the slower, soft beats to the harder, edgier ones are seamless. My second time through I was more focused on Mark. Although he may not be the best vocalist in the world, he makes up for it with his lyrics. Some of them catchy, many of them moving. I'm very tempted to say that this CD could be a "break up" album for someone. Alot of the lyrics are pretty powerful and moving as sung on such ballads as "Lillian", "Weatherman", and even "No, it isn't" which seems to be a parting shot at their former bandmate Tom Delonge: [Please understand/This isn't just goodbye/This is I can't stand you.]-[I listen to you talk but, talk is cheap/And my mouth is filled with blood from trying not to speak].

I think what impressed me the most about this album is the variety of songs that are performed. They didn't try to come out and rip hard rock on every song. They incorporate the piano beautifully between, and sometimes with, the guitar riffs on such tracks as "Little Death" and my personal favorite: "Weatherman". Ivory keys are also present on the song "Make You Smile" (which features the vocals of Carol Heller). That song doesn't seem like it belongs on the album but, it ends up fitting in perfectly with the tone of the rest of the CD.

Although I'm completely distraught that I will never again be able to attend another Blink 182 concert, I AM thankful for now having TWICE as much GREAT music to enjoy as before. What +44 has done on their debut album is not groundbreaking by any means. Mark and Travis didn't have to "hype up" their album as pretensiously as Tom did with A&A. Plus-44 lets their music speak for themselves. In my opinion, both albums are just great musicians playing great music.

Isn't that really all we want?

This is one of the best cd's that i have bought... i was always a fan of blink 182, but mostly of Travis Barker, but this cd was such a style change for both Mark and Travis, and they pulled it off so well... I highly recomend this cd to any Blink fans.

A step up from Blink 182's self titled, and a true progress in that genre. The melodies stike as many endearing chords as Blink 182 produced in its whole life. It's a completely different direction than We Don't Need to Whisper, but it's indeed almost as good, just as the consensus seems to acknowledge. If you are like me and immensely enjoy Mark's voice in Blink (particularly on songs like Adam's Song, Feeling This, and Go), you'll do yourself a favor in listening to this record.

In my (brilliant) opinion ;), I think that this album deserves a round of applause. Plus 44 I believe will be more sucessful then AVA because AVA had a massive build up and then when it came out, everyone was like "oh, thats it?" whereas with plus 44, they didn't claim anything and it kept people having an open mind. Now that that has been said, let me tell you about the ablum.

Besides being brilliant, this album contains some strong solid modern rock songs which vary in style from the slower, sadder song 'Weatherman' to the faster, more up-beat song 'When Your Heart Stops Beating'. Mark goes back to his punk rock roots in 'Cliff Diving' which was rather satisfing to hear after showing his more mature side in the previous songs. The songs are in a good order with a nice break in 'Interlude'. Well, I'm gonna stop talking here and let the 5 stars speak for themselves...