For another edition of “Modern Busker Favourites,” I got thinking about the enduring popularity of a song like “All The Small Things” by Blink-182. It’s not quite “Sweet Caroline” or Mumford & Sons levels of busker staple, but it’s one you’ll still hear fairly often – a song that’s stuck around across generations. I’m sure I’ll review Blink-182 properly at some point, and apply my interesting genre labels to them, but today I wanted to highlight a different project from Tom DeLonge – Angels & Airwaves.

Compared to Blink’s pop-punk sound, Angels & Airwaves is far more spacey and atmospheric, built on layers of echo and reverb-drenched guitars. You can hear clear influences from bands like The Cure, New Order, U2 and Depeche Mode. The album I’m highlighting is Lifeforms, from 2021, which pulls all of those influences together into a cohesive and catchy record.

Track-by-track:

• Timebomb – Opens with an electro beat and Daft Punk-style vocoder before settling into a full-band sound. The synth-heavy, anthemic chorus feels very The Killers — a comparison that runs through the whole album.
• Euphoria – A heavier track built around a hard-rocking riff, before shifting into a melodic chorus and an energetic pop-punk outro.
• Spellbound – Very Depeche Mode-inspired, with a pulsing synth and a New Order-style bassline floating over the top. As with the rest of the album, it balances brightness with a subtle post-punk edge. The “Sex on Fire” line always makes me laugh.
• No More Guns – A detour into 50s rock ’n’ roll and Ramones-style punk. Less new wave influence, but still a fun change of pace.
• Losing My Mind – One of the most danceable tracks here. It blends New Order-style rhythm with a rock backbone – the core formula of the album. I’m not usually a fan of the “click” sound in the intro, I think it’s overused in modern pop. However, it still works as the production of the album is so organic.
• Automatic – Strong Cure vibes, similar in feel to “Inbetween Days.”
• Restless Souls – A more straightforward punk track, but the echoing bass and subtle electronic elements keep that 80s influence present.
• Rebel Girl – Bright, peppy synth-pop with U2-style delay guitars and a Springsteen-esque glockenspiel touch.
• A Fire in a Nameless Town – A moodier, more restrained track. It doesn’t quite build to the big moment you expect, but it works as a more chilled, atmospheric piece.
• Kiss & Tell – A strong closing track that pulls together the different sounds explored across the album.

Overall, I’d recommend Lifeforms to both Blink-182 fans and skeptics. It’s very different, but still sits in a similar sonic world.

It has a classic feel, the production is spot on, and every track is ridiculously catchy.

Much like All The Small Things, it’s the kind of music that sticks.