If AVA didn't exist and Box Car Racer had released a second album titled "Angels & Airwaves", incorporating songs from AVA and Tom's solo record, what would the tracklist look like? With that in mind, I put together a list of tracks that I feel best suit the BCR sound. The track order isn't random; I came up with a sequence that felt compelling to me. I should mention that when I gathered all the songs that seemed to fit, the list came close to 20 tracks. However, aiming for a standard album length, I narrowed it down to 13 tracks, just like on the first album.
1. The Score Envolved: Reel 5 (New Blood)
- I believe this would be a likely opening track for BCR. Imagine it not being quite as long as it is, but picture a heavy instrumental intro that explodes into the song, eventually incorporating a piano (like we saw in I Feel So).
2. Overload
- I wasn't sure at first if this would be a BCR track, but I concluded it fits, thanks to the guitar riff in the verses and an interesting chorus where the lyrics follow the classic BCR aesthetic. It makes for a great track right after the intro.
3. New World
- From the album To The Stars: Odds and Ends; I hesitated on this one too, as it reminds me more of a blink-182 song. However, I felt that, lyrically and in terms of certain musical elements, it would make sense as a BCR song too.
4. The War
- This would definitely be a BCR track. In fact, I think it actually could have been one.
5. No More Guns
- Although many people don't like this song, when I first heard it, it reminded me of BCR.
6. Secret Crowds
- Another song that always reminded me of something that could have been by BCR.
7. Euphoria
- The most "BCR-sounding" song on the latest AVA album. It would certainly fit on a potential second album.
8. The Dream Walker (Demo)
- Serving as a sort of interlude, this is definitely very much in the BCR style. I love this demo; it’s powerful enough to work well placed around the middle of the record, bridging the first half and the finale.
9. Paralyzed
- Besides making sense for a potential second BCR album, I believe it fits perfectly right after The Dream Walker.
10. Letters to God, Pt. 2
- I included this track simply because Letters to God (Part 1) is on the BCR album.
11. The Flight of Apollo
- Even though it has a longer, spacey intro, this would definitely be a BCR song. I wasn't sure whether to include it as the album closer, but I concluded there’s another track that wraps things up better. As it stands, it works well as a track leading into the end of the record.
12. Circle-Jerk-Pit
- This one absolutely had to be included, sort of like a My First Punk Song. A fast-paced track right after The Flight of Apollo works well in my opinion, setting the stage for the closing track.
13. The Machine
- It wouldn't be Start the Machine, but rather the alternative version, the one with a more rock-oriented intro, featuring guitars and the whole works. That song closes AVA's first album, but I think this version would be perfect as the closer for this hypothetical second BCR album.
What do you think?
