Tom DeLonge's 'punk supergroup' make a swift return, and they seem to have refined their sound somewhat. The major criticism of the band's debut album was their blatant desire to be U2, even managing to shoehorn a Edge-style riff into nearly every track.
This time round, things are a lot less epic, and its to the band's favour. Instead of the Bono-apeing riffs, there's a fresh, even funky, feel to Everything's Magic, taking some of the pop sensibility of DeLonge's previous band Blink 182 and stripping out all the juvenile humour that made them so annoying.
The result is catchy, uplifting and surprisingly likeable. They may not be, as DeLonge never tired of claiming, "the band that will change your life", but Everything's Magic is a distinct improvement on what's gone before.
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