Already, I-Empire is one of the best albums of the year (if not THE best). Of all the CD's I've listened to this year, this one, by far, is very optimistic and uplifting, to say the least. The anthemic, 80's synth-pop, stadium-rock sound works very well here. And if it does sound formulaic, so be it! Very heartfelt and inspirational too! Tom DeLonge has definitely come a long way from his Blink-182 days, and I'm all the more glad for it! Instead of the usual bratty, toilet humor, we get mature, "reach for the sky" sentiments, that is, keep going, no matter what happens to you in life. Honestly, I think that's what we need more nowadays. By the way, forget about that Rolling Stone critic who gave this fine CD only 2 1/2 stars. According to the review, "Blink-182 guitarist is all grown up and synth-poppy. But is that a good thing?" I certainly think so!

Whereas "We Don't Need to Whisper" sounded a bit forced and stuck in the eighties, I-Empire brings back Tom Delonge to his element; this move should please both blink fans and fans of AVA alike. There is a much harder rock sound to a lot of the songs on this album, and the slower songs show a side of Tom we've never heard. "Rite of Spring" is also the most personal song he has ever written. This album feels much more thought out as well - there aren't needless wandering instrumental bits stuffed into the songs. Pick it up if you like catchy rock music with a positive theme (the powerful notion that "you can do anything"). Highly recommended.

the guys do it for a 2nd time. A&A make another high quality, energy filled yet important cd with a message. Its done while having fun and going through different moods from tracks like "Everything's Magic" its fun and irressitible song for them to "Star of Bethlehem" a two minute interlude...unlike other interludes on other albums this one actually warrants listening to.

I was a fan from their first cd "We Don't Need To Whisper" with "I-Empire" the guys have firmly established themselves in this music industry and can/will only go up from here. As this cd is one that can't be ignored by folks at all. Loving the cd from beginning to end it flows from one track to the next with an ease that you seldom experience.

First one was all that...2nd one is all that and so much more!!

5/5 overall

Well, let's see. How do you begin to explain the beauty that is Angels and Airwaves to someone who doesn't want to listen, or can't look past the fact that Blink 182 is no more? Chances are you can't, which is why I-Empire has only sold about 150,000 copies in it's first few months of existence (although I still say that's an impressive number considering the record business today). But for those of you who love AVA, have an open mind, or perhaps were never die hard fans of Blink, here goes:

1) Call To Arms (5/5)- Wow, what a way to start off the album... and without the two minute intro that came along with Valkyrie. This song is an incredible lift off with amazing vocals that have been shockingly sang to perfection by Tom during live performances.

2) Everything's Magic (5/5)- The obvious single, I haven't stopped listening to this one since it leaked oh so many months ago. Does it sound like Anthem Pt. 2? A little bit. Does it sound like "Close to Me" by the Cure, a little bit. Are those bad things? I don't think so. Perfect single.

3) Breathe (3/5)- I find this to be a poor placement track wise on the album, but lots of fans love it so it's just my opinion. To me, it's something of a bland song that is really repetitive and doesn't truly kick in until about 4 minutes in, at which point it becomes brilliant. You probably really have to be truly in love to enjoy this one as much as Tom does. Oh yea, musically it's got a Phil Collins/Peter Gabriel sound to it.

4) Love Like Rockets (4/5)- A cool little song with an Eisenhower speech at the beginning that as a history teacher I can't get enough of. This one is hard to describe (other than it being very "outer-spacey") and doesn't really stand out. However, it's a great song with a great ending reminiscent of the end of "Feeling This".

5) Sirens (5/5)- I felt this should've been the second single as even my friends who don't care for AVA make me put this one on in the car. It almost has two different chorus' and the entire song is a "sing along" if I've ever heard one. I can't say enough good things about "Sirens", even if I have a completely different interpretation of the lyrics than Tom.

6) Secret Crowds (3/5)- This is where the title of the album comes from. I'm sorry, but I just don't love this one. It falls into the old AVA trap of getting far too repetitive. The radio version is said to have cut the song down to about three minutes, removing most of the repetition at the end and the drawn out intro, which I'm pretty sure is going to make it one of my favorites. I wish it would've been cut down for the album.

7) Star of Bethlehem (4/5)- This one has been out for a while, but has been cut from the rest of the song for the purpose of the album (People had complained about the length of intros on WDNTW). This could definitely be a Moby song if you didn't know it was AVA and it really set's up the next song.

8) True Love (4/5)- Combined with S.O.B, this song has been a favorite of fans of the band for over a year now. It's a great song that makes you feel like it's Christmas. Unfortunately, it gets really repetitive at the end "The Stars in the Sky....". He repeats the chorus about 15 times and after a while you kind of wish he would stop.

9) Lifeline (6/5)- Wow. This is the most touching and wonderful song Tom Delonge has ever written. Reminiscent of "A Little's Enough", this one is guaranteed to give you chills. This song is about Tom's drug/pain killer addiction that nearly killed him a few years ago. He is definitely talking about God here, and the "Footsteps" reference is really powerful. His vocals for the line "Here's your lifeline" sound like nothing Tom has ever done before. "We all make mistakes, here's your lifeline"... incredible.

10) Jumping Rooftops (NR)- I'm kind of sick of this whole interlude thing that's been plaguing the Blink boys since Untitled. It does however bridge Lifeline and Rite of Spring very well.

11) Rite of Spring (3/5)- This is probably the one that will get me negative reviews, but I just don't feel it. The chorus is great but the lyrics throughout the song, while extremely personal (which is nice), are not really well written. It seems out of place on the album and somewhat awkward.

12) Heaven (5/5)- This one is unreal. Throughout the song you hear little clips of previous songs such as Valkyrie Missile and The Adventure, which is incredibly cool. The song itself is just 6 minutes of awesomeness, great music, great lyrics, and great vocals! This is an uplifting and new way to end an album, quite contrary to the way Tom has typically done so; Start the Machine, I'm Lost Without You, Instrumental... etc. "Please stay, don't go, I've got you now... are you curious please stay!"


So I have to say that as amazing as Whisper was, I-Empire may very well top it. Lifeline and Heaven are two of the best songs ever written (by anyone!) and the rest of the album is as wonderful as I've described. I can't wait to hear what's next.

There is something special about this band! I sense a very positive, energetic approach to this album. I felt the same way about the first album "We Don't Need to Whisper" but even more so on this second release. I enjoyed all the songs and will listen to it several more times this week. Who can I compare them to .............
probably no-one! They are quite unique. Very unlike most of the new stuff coming out. If you liked their first album, you will certainley like this album. (maybe even better). Great Job Angels and Airwaves!