If there’s anything we can all agree on right now, it’s that Tom DeLonge has always been a bit of a flirt and he lives to tease us all.
No matter what, life is always an adventure with AVA and everything’s magic when it comes to the incredible Mr. Delonge.
His Instagram has been nothing short of fun. From dogs driving cars, to proving the actual existence of UFOs, and riffing with his former bandmates – Blink 182’s Mark and Travis – in a dank comment thread.
Now Tom has given us a big tease: a new Angels & Airwaves record is finally in production again and it’s going to be “epic!” His words, not mine. It’s the rebel in Delonge that fascinates us all. You just never know what is next for him. He did once say, “I’m always going to try things people think I cant do.”
AVA started 2019 very strong with a rebrand of the band’s image, a national tour, and a hint at a full-length album on the way. I saw Tom and the group twice that year, including a packed hometown San Diego House of Blues show. Some of the notable people I shared the VIP area with were his mom and NOFX’s Eric Melvin.
PHOTO by TNN RADIO
It was a fantastic show with so much forward propulsion, and the band was on a high. The moon-man LOVE curtain behind them fell to reveal the colors and new vibe of the unnamed album their single “Rebel Girl” would be a part of.
Of course with the turn of the year, the unexpected pandemic would be the beginning of a string of canceled shows, studio time, and undoubtedly restrain Tom and the band’s trajectory.
The Prime Directive
“The big thing for us in life is to be able to feel things. To discover what’s right and what’s wrong. To make choices and to learn from how you affect other people. That’s really what I’m trying to do with Angels & Airwaves.“
TOM DELONGE | AVA
During the great slow down, Angels & Airwaves teamed up to release a new single called “All That’s Left is Love.”
An optimistic song in the face of the challenges of the pandemic. The band donated all proceeds of the song to Feeding America’s COVID-19 relief fund.
After that, we didn’t hear much from Tom, but unlike most, when Tom is quiet we know he is up to something creatively. We were happy to hear the single “Paper Thin” released with ILLENIUM and Angels & Airwaves, perhaps teasing us with a new sonic influence to come. Now in 2021, it looks like we are going to see the early workings of the record that was to be in 2019.
Tom has started the drip on his Instagram with hints like: “So I finally sang, and resang, rewrote, and resang- again… And now it’s awesome. This specific song has the (temporary) biblical name of ‘DISSCO’” accompanied with some BTS videos and selfies (his signature ES- 333 Guitar and padded studio walls in the background).
I get a vibe that this new album will be a tad nostalgic as he showed us an old Box Car Racer guitar makes an appearance.
In a recent interview with Rock Sound, Delonge reflected on the new album and said, “It’s going to be a very diverse record when it comes out, it’ll be like the greatest hits of all the bands that I love.” He added, “Everything is falling into place and this is probably going to be the best record I have ever done in my life.” Flirt with us as he may – he doesn’t lie.
A release date for the AVA album hasn’t been announced just yet, and Delonge has another project in the works. His directorial debut in a sci-fi film, “Monster of California.” Keep your eyes and ears at the ready, because 2021 will let us in on what Tom Delonge has been working on.
