Combines elements of several music genres into one accessible yet progressive package.

For the uninitiated Angels & Airwaves is Tom Delonge's other band. For those who've been on another planet for the last five or so years Delonge is the guitarist for Blink 182. Love Part II is the band's fourth album following hot on the heels of the 2010's Love Part I which was released free of charge, consequently becoming the most downloaded album ever.

Blink 182, until recent times, was the archetypal pop punk band, one of the pioneers of the genre and subsequently one of the most popular. Angels & Airwaves is a different beast entirely, throwing together a more alternative rock sound that contains elements of pop punk, synth rock and ambient progressive rock, further embellished by DeLonge's familiar vocal refrains. Part II is a far stronger effort than its predecessor; it has a far more upbeat commercial edge with less of a meandering sound and far more purpose.

U2 influenced opener 'Saturday Love' kicks off with a serious pop edge whilst 'Surrender' and 'Anxiety' follow suit in an equally impressive way. It's really not until 'Moon As My Witness' that things revert to the more ambient nature of Part I, and it's left to 'Dry Your Eyes' to pick up the pace again, quickly followed by the pure pop of 'The Revelator'. 'Inertia' adds weight to the theory that Angels & Airwaves-and in particular drummer Ilan Rubin-is heavily influenced by U2 with its Adam Clayton inspired drum patterns, whilst the synth pop of 'Behold a Pale Horse' shows that the band can do hooky melodies with little effort.

Critics of the pop punk genre will no doubt dismiss Angels & Airwaves as just another band peddling their own brand of a tried and tested formula. Dig a little deeper however and it's unlikely that you'll find anything quite as original as this, combining as it does elements of several music genres into one accessible yet progressive package that clearly illustrates that music very rarely stands still.

Mike Newdeck