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 | Plus 44When Your Heart Stops Beating2006 Geffen 
 Review by: crazytoledo See others by this writer Only registered users can post comments 
 
Published on November 14th 2006
I never considered myself a huge fan of Blink-182 and didn’t really care for their side projects, so I didn’t really know what to expect when checking out the two post-Blink-182 bands. After being treated to a tiresome and uninteresting debut by Angels and Airwaves, it was hard to collect real thought on what would come of the debut from the other post-Blink band, +44. With +44 originally announced as an electronic-based project, I never paid attention while Carol Heller left the band and they enlisted Shane Gallagher and Craig Fairbaugh to complete the band’s lineup. Maybe it was the way it was supposed to be, but I hadn't a clue to what the album would sound like; in the end I was completely stunned by the mammoth debut known as When Your Heart Stops Beating.
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I 100% love 44 and i agree that angels and airwaves was a bit boring but i guess i am more into them than you are but this album from 44 is better than angels and airwaves one we don't need to whisper. 44 are the best band ever and Travis Barker is the best drummer in the world. 44 are the best band ever and Travis Barker is the best drummer in the world. dude.......can't say blink is the same thing than plus 44.......first of all, i think blink's break up was a stupid mistake........they should be together.....playing great music and hanging aroun......i'm not saying plus 44 is bad.....but it was better when blink was on stage I have to say i loved blink 182 and would take them back over 44 but at least one good thing came out of the break up. I love this album!! It took a couple of listens, but I ended up liking this a hell of a lot more than I thought I would. And "Make You Smile" is one of the best songs on there, even if the lyrics are repeated too frequently. It's too bad Heller left the band - if that was the direction they were moving in, I would have liked to have heard more. short and sweet review...its got some good songs (the first 3, some towards the end), but i feel like overall its not that great. the middle seems pretty lame to me. We all know it's not blink. I don't really understand those whos expected fast and real punk songs as dude ranch. that age is gone. BUT. when ava has gone out i didn't really like it. around that time plus44's "no it isn't" had been taken to the internet and i thought it was great. (now they changed a lot in that song, i think the earlier was better). So when my friend's ava mania was the higher, i said to him: ok, wait for 44. And now he thinks 44 is much better. I've said.:D i have both of thew albums and quite frankly i think both of them are a waste of money.yeah 44's is better than angels and airwaves but they are both as bad as each other so get over the whole 44's is better than AVA' and vise versa cuz they both suck.... Ok seriously, i have actually bothered to sit here with my friend and read most of the reviews on the album and read about how much people HATE angels & airwaves, how it bores them to sleep and whatever, and that Plus 44's album is ok - better than AVA's - but didn't fully do it for them. But can you guys just stop dissing each other's bands. The WYHSB album in my opinion is great, I like the way they can lyrically change all their songs - Cliffdiving is a classic - and how they can also express their feelings about the B182 break up without getting tooo nasty (mind the line 'this isnt just goodbye, this is i can't stand you'). And then the Angels and Airwaves album is just beautiful, it might be repetitive, but it's very touching and something a lot of people just want to hear when they're down and depressed. Either way both bands put A LOT of effort into their albums, so I think that's what we should really respect them for. i was really excited for this album since last june and when i heard the songs when your heart stops beating and no it isnt and lycanthrope i thought this cd was gonna be killer. instead, it turned out thos 3 songs were my fav. the other songs on the album were ok and good, but just didnt do it for me. like weatherman, it shows how much marks obssesed with the cure. and it sucks to say this b/c marks my idol, hes one of the funniest crazyest dudes out there, and the dissapointing part is that he didnt show some of that in the cd. and mark said the cd was all his feelings about the past year, but most of them are love songs like make you smile, which the whole song just has repeating lyrics. i dont mean to diss 44 but theres the truth ppl. and by the way 44 kicks angels & airwaves ass by a long shot. ive tried listening to them and i nearly fell asleep. all their songs are about god and have really long boring repeating parts like in the adventure, "i cannot live i cant breathe unless you do this with me", which repeats about what 7 times until it says the chorus again for alot of times again. all in all, i think 44s upcoming albums will be alot better, but with AVA theirs will only get more boring and worse. thank you and good nite. plus 44 is better than tom's band i think its catchy For all of you who are complaining and saying how Blink was better and bah blah, save it. We all know it's not Blink. It's not supposed to be. As good as Blink was, it's over. leave it alone. If they got back together now they'd be worse than their last cd, we all know it. Blink has ended it's own legacy, where everyone thought AvA would continue it, they obviously failed. ( 44)'s worst songs on their album beat out AvA's best. Hands down. ok well as far as whjich is better, 44 or AvA i definately have to go with 44. i saw AvA at their first concert ever and it was supposed to be amazing or w/e but it sucked. it sounded like trance gone terribly wrong. The entire time i wasn't sure if they had switched songs or if it really was one terribly, tediously long song. I picked up the new 44 album the day it came out, with much excitement over songs like When Your Heart Stops Beating, and i honestly must say that i expected more fast songs, but thinking of what mark has just come through slow and strong seems to fit now. as to their next album, im sure theyll evolve, but im happy with them now. where as i dont mind the album. it was pretty disappointing. "44 > boxcar racer > the last blink album > Angels and Airwaves" Yes. Middle aged men exchanging jabs over how emo the other one is is not somehitng to make fun of. Yes. Middle aged men exchanging kabs over how emo the other one is is not somehitng to make fun of. It's funny how you guys are all making fun of the "Let's slit our wrists and burn down something beautiful," line, as if it weren't a sarcastic jab at how emo Tom DeLonge is. I mean sure, make fun of shit if you have to, but at least do it in a way that doesn't render you as completely ignorant. angels and airwaves suck xxx cock I've always been a huge Blink fan. When I first heard the original demo for 44's "No It Isn't" (with the chick singing) I thought it was total crap. However, when I heard that Mark and Travis dropped the chick and enlisted Craig Leg from The Forgotten (one of my favourite bands), I had to check out 44 again to hear what I thought was going to be a tougher sounding version of Blink. THE ALBUM IS OKAY - not amazing, but nowhere near as bad as Angels & Airwaves. If you're into the fast, snotty Blink circa 1994 - 2001 then you will like "Lycanthrope", "When Your Heart Stops Beating", "Cliffdiving", and the new version of "No It Isn't". There's 4 other totally mediocre songs, and 4 total shit songs that prove Tom DeLonge isn't the only insane ex-member of Blink. I think BOTH Mark and Tom need to realize they have talent in writing fast, vulgar, melodic punk - NOT wannabe Cure crap. Posted by theonetruebill on 2006-11-14 00:07:33 44 are boring, they're to afraid to let themsleves loose barring 2 tracks, they seem strained. just got the album yesterday...for the most part I like it Nowhere near as good as Angels & Airwaves. Guy posting below me appears to be dead-on accurate. It's funny how you guys are all making fun of the "Let's slit our wrists and burn down something beautiful," line, as if it weren't a sarcastic jab at how emo Tom DeLonge is. I mean sure, make fun of shit if you have to, but at least do it in a way that doesn't render you as completely ignorant. 44 > boxcar racer > the last blink album > Angels and Airwaves What descendents song did they play? mark hasn't put out a good cd in 9 and a half years... this just keeps the streak going. Got the new 44 yesterday-- yeah i know, i guess i was bein a hypocrite..sorry about that. Someone should seriously start a count of how many times nocigar pops up in Blink 182-related news posts and defends them. I'm totally for this dickhead slitting his wrists and destroying something beautiful or whatever stupid ass shit he is talking about. this shit sucks beyond description. the fact that middle aged men make this shit and still have 12 inch mohawks is mindblowing. cd is pretty good. a little bland at times. blink 182 is better. dude ranch and enema of the state are way better than plus 44, but it is pretty good. it lacks really fast punk songs, but the slower ones are pretty good. this shit sucks beyond description. the fact that middle aged men make this shit and still have 12 inch mohawks is mindblowing. It's OK, sounds like latest blink-182, but a little bit less good than their previous CD, as it has happened with each blink album since Dude Ranch. Half of the songs are quite boring. I listened to the whole thing on the way to work today. If iTunes ever has a 10 cent song bin, most of these belong in it. I tried to like it, it's really just underwhelming and really no better than Angels and Airwaves, I don't care if Tom is the "dick" and Mark is the "he's still cool" one. Both bands are disgustingly sub-par. i got the debut cd yesterday, its pretty good... i wasnt sure how it would turn out. all in all they're pretty good I went to thier show last night in ny, ther werent bad at all. Travis played with one arm and used the broken arm to smoke while he was playing..Descendents cover was pretty good also.. Now thats some coverart! Since everyone is talking about random things here, I guess I will too. skaboom, i'm rarely sober. i mean, right now i am, it's only 9:30 though and i just ate breakfast. soon enough. To quote many on here, a few really good songs to go with a few " filler" type, but these guys dont claim to be reinventing the wheel like ava, it is what it is, a pop punk album and for the record? 155 is the nifty song on here-oldpunker- Paul - the interlude was included so that the album would be exactly 44 minutes long. haha paul i LOVE that song "shut up" hahahah. but yeah the uh I keep seeing posts about 44 being Mark's new band. What about Travis? Believe it or not, drummers are band members, too. Just because he doesn't sing or write lyrics doesn't make him less talented than Mark and Tom (quite the opposite!) "well to back up my previous comments about crazytoledo being deaf: Oops, looks like I mis-quoted the review there, but I think my overall point still stands (I'm SURE I've read that on at least a dozen reviews on this site though). Am I the only one who loses interest in a review the second it mentions "lush soundscapes"? meh Cave In's "Until Your Heart Stops" (released in 1998) was a better album both then and now. Plus these guys pretty much ripped the title off. I don't hate this band, but goddammit they're not that good. Crazytoledo you have one messed up rating scale. But then again you like what you like, and I can respect that. I just don't agree. Mark can't write an albums worth of hooks and it shows. They should have took the few good songs and just put out an EP. honestly, everyone keeps saying "oh, it's nothing like blink!!!" "this doesn't even remind me of blink!" wonder why, you dumbasses. that would be because it isn't blink. This is a new band, and i personally like the way that mark and travis and those two other guys are taking it. change is needed sometimes, and sadly, it's not looking like tom's coming back anytime soon, so people need to get used to the fact that 44 is a solid band and they're going to be around for awhile not going to lie, this shit is fucking infectious here's the difference. i used to buy all the blink albums the day they came out, begining with Dude Ranch. I did not rush out to buy this today. I wish I had something to be excited about, but I feel let down. I like others miss the fast punk songs mark used to write. I will probably eventually get this, also ava does blow. the end The 80's were bad for mainstream music; underground/indie music reached a level of awesometacularity that none have ever grasped since. OK...Duran Duran...Motley Crue...Don Johnson's musical career -- all bad. Minor Threat, Venom, and XTC -- all good. Great album, dispite its 80s influence. Just got the CD. So far so great, I really like it. It's mellow, but whatever I'm a sucker for Blink.. minus that pretentious AVA bullshit. Either way at least this album is honest. You all know what I'm going to say, so I'm not even going to bother. Just assume I said something knee-jerk anarcho-punk, yell at me for it, and then we can all move on. 'Kay? ashes/dying, because it implies false metal-ness Topic of discussion: What is worse, band names that end with a random number, or band names that contain the words "ashes" or "dying"? ill but the cd so i can use the album art as toilet paper No one wrote a review of the new Evens album? i dig it. ill stand by that 8. for an album in the pop-punk genre, this is good. It's always reviews like these that get the Blink fans to post, like weevils crawling out of the woodwork of a house. Not trying to diss on the fans, but the way some people are saying that this is not as good as 182, makes me think that we have set a fairly low bar, and this album did not pass it. wentzequalsdeath's comment about 10 spaces down was golden. the review's okay but the score's too generous ive heard about half of this album i think its decent, i also think it basically sounds like blink 182s last album waaay better than Angels and Airwaves. But it's not revolutionary or anything. its ok but definetly forgettable Dude Ranch, Enema, Cheshire, are so much better than this album. A little fast pased Blink stlye punk rock would be refreshing. This plus 44 album is not that great. also, cliff diving the supposed (blink style song) sucks. it is slow, and boring. newer blink was O.K. but no where near as good as old Blink. I had really really high hoped for this one. damn. What happened to Mark writing good fast punk songs like Dude ranch era. Those dude ranch songs are still good ten years later, and this plus 44 stuff is boring and bland. HAHA he called the band nerds!!! I didn't read the review yet but I already know 8 is too high. to the post below, what was the crowd like @ 9:30-oldpunker i saw them in DC last night, they put on a fun show. I got the CD... mine is green though instead of blue, do they have different colors to get for the cover? Colin, I'm totally with you in wishing that Mark would have experimented more. It sounds like he just wants this be be Blink-182. At least Tom experimented a little bit more. It's just too bad that all of his experimenting ended up being U2 rip-offs. Have not heard it yet, but will give it a try, score is for me giving it a try-oldpunker- well to back up my previous comments about crazytoledo being deaf: the cover art looks like the design team from the last blink album broke up but 2 of the guys stuck around and made a record cover that looks sorta like the old one but just isn't very good. bearing in mind that the last one wasn't good either. much better than angels and airwaves. its closer to blinks style, and mark has always been the better vocalist/lyricist and songwriter. and travis can drum circles around atom willard (willard is good though). its catchier, has more variety and is just better in all aspects. that song w/ the girl though, sounds like a potal service ripoff. you know that duet song on give up. yea. and i agree w/ the MCS comparison, and thats a good thing since I love MCS. Hoppus's time producing them definitely influenced what he was working on. better than the blink s/t as well as AVA. but overall, I'll still take 'enema of the state' or 'jacket' or 'dude ranch' over this. or maybe its just because i was a teenager when those came out and now i'm 26. all i have to say is tom is a pompus asshole and became an emo bitch! if you wanna hear tom whine into the mirco, like he is having his first orgasm, then listen to angels and airwaves! i personally haven't heard 44 yet but i am sure it is way better! It felt weird cranking Blink 182 in my car. Especially since I haven't really listened to any of their songs since like junior high / freshmen year and that was on the radio when someone else was driving. Now I got my license and was jamming Blink 182 it was kinda strange. But anyway, some of those songs are extremly catchy and fun songs to listen to. "I think, Mark & Travis and Tom need to just kiss and make up because they really only made fun music together." b. i can take all the criticism people dish out. i just usually argue back. I post annonymously because I forgot my username and password. But I did post the "unprofessional" comment. My name is Luke if you hate anonymity (spelling?). I think it takes credibility away from your own reviews when you post comments like those. It's fine to argue, but make some points, not just exclamations. I actually agree with you on the 5/10, though. i really wanted this to be good It looks really unprofessional when the reviewer who can't take criticism, himself, posts the above quote to another reviewer on the same site. I'll get it later today. I remember Colin originally saying this on the album: Ok disc but over all it was a little underwhelming. This cd sucks Pretty excited to get this cd. From what I've heard on it i like it alot. "It looks really unprofessional when the reviewer who can't take criticism, himself, posts the above quote to another reviewer on the same site. Not the greatest record I've heard but it's an enjoyable listen for what it is. First track I heard was actually "Make You Smile" and I thought the band was a Postal Service rip off :P. "are you fuckng SERIOUS?! I really enjoyed the album. Make You Smile, Baby Come On, No It Isn't, and Chapter XIII are probably my favorites. If you even slightly enjoyed the older Blink releases, you should at least check it out. SuperRad nailed it right on the head. Seconded. the best post 182 project iv heard but still not great. too many fillers. never was a big fan of blnk either though. 4 stars is too much. This is ok, but I wanted more. A lot of filler and a few really cool songs. Good review. I disagree though. Nice review. I'd give it a 7. pretty good album. some great tracks, some mediocre ones and a couple bad ones. wow.. i think i've gotta check this out now.. credibility on the line! In all honesty, it's not as bad as I thought it would be, but I doubt I will spend money on it. Definitely better than Angels and Airwaves though. there's a few killer songs on here. just too hit or miss. Meh, it's not the worst thing i've ever heard. It'll be forgetable, thats for sure, But it's better then i expected. Good review, good album. Haters gonna hate. crazytoledo should be banned from reviewing albums better than ava: yes. Better than blink : NO. I miss good ole fast punk songs Mark used to write, why can't he incorporate some of those on this album?? Mark wrote the coolest songs on Dude Ranch, I was hoping for a couple new gems on this album. Not a bad album if you were ever a blink fan. angels and airwaves is ten times better. fucken 44 suck ass man WOW. fucken travis barker even sounds liek shit on this and hes the drum god im w/ skaboob on this one, even though i dont really like either band "are you fuckng SERIOUS?! I've been listening to this album quite a bit. I really and truly enjoy it a lot, which surprises me. It's catchy as all hell, and, obviously, a fucking shit-ton better than that Angels & Airwaves bullshit was. Mark and Travis seemed to be content to stick to what they know and do well, and what they know and do well is catchy ass pop songs. are you fuckng SERIOUS?! The title track is the best thing on here, but there's some really, really solid songs on here. Leaps and bounds ahead of A&A. man what sweet album art. i hope the music matches it. I liked this, "Lycanthrope", "155", and "Little Death" have been on my playlist for a while now, just catchy. it's not good my really long internet penis didn't get sucked. Good review Toledo, though that first paragraph could use a little tweaking. Haven't heard this album, but will probably check it out now. 8 stars for this? wow... low standards the first half is decent, but the second half is terribly weak. This album surprised me. I expected it to at least be better than "we don't need to whisper" but I figured it'd also be pretty forgettable. It was generally my understanding that Delonge could write some great melodies, and Hoppus would focus them. It appears I underestimated Mark's abilities at writing. My really long Riot Fest review didn't get posted :( I will get enormous amounts of shit for this, but I actually like Angels & Airwaves better. Like, a lot better. this album is good but it needs tom delonge. old tom, not new jesus freak tom. disappointing considering the lineup. My really long Riot Fest review didn't get posted :( |
