“Euphoria” by Angels & Airwaves

“Euphoria” is a song which is definitely based on a distinguishable storyline as opposed to a sentiment per se. And at the center of it all is the addressee. She is a female who, judging by the pre-chorus and second verse, may well be a romantic interest of the vocalist’s. But more to the point is this notion of she being from, shall we say an abusive background even from a very-young age. 

There have been a number of songs throughout the decades that have dealt with such subject matter, i.e. a female addressee with a troubled past who accordingly, from a mental and emotional standpoint, is still dealing with said reality. And as with “Euphoria”, such tracks are also sympathetic as well as encouraging towards said addressee to concentrate more on her own inner healing. And they often do so without perhaps giving any specific instructions on how to achieve said goal.

Such is the case with the relationship at hand. It is clear that the singer feels for this lady. He is even fantasizing, if you will, about her spazzing out and in the process overcoming all of this built-up angst she has been holding onto since she was “only five”. Indeed the primary sentiment being expressed is sort of based on a revenge fantasy so to speak, where the vocalist is imagining this apparently young lady finally getting back at the “villain” who has almost destroyed her life.

Addressee’s Woes

Moreover it would appear that her past has made her into somewhat of a volatile lover. And accordingly the singer perceives that he may be in danger, dealing with her in such a capacity and all. But considering his overall attraction to her, he’s willing to take it like that or “die here now by euphoria”, as he puts it.

So this is one of those songs where there may be more going on underneath the lyrics than on the surface. We’ve pointed out in the bottom section of the article that despite not being one of the big names in the industry, Angels & Airwaves have managed to retain a loyal following. And that may be because, judging by this song, they’re the type of rock act where you don’t have to overuse your imagination in the name of ascertaining what they’re saying.

As such, the featured storyline seems to be pretty decipherable.

Storyline of “Euphoria”

The singer has hooked up with a lady who is the victim of childhood abuse. Of what variety is not specified. But either way, as a result, it’s like he feels more sympathy for her than he does amorous affection. In fact being the person that he is, what happened to her earlier in life is pissing him off even here and now. And he is hoping that one day she is able to exact vengeance on her abuser(s) but even more so attain inner peace within herself.

Angels & Airwaves

Angels & Airwaves are a band from San Diego that has been around since 2005. Throughout the years they have mostly been a four-man squad, with lead singer Tom DeLonge being onboard throughout. 

And as of the release of “Euphoria” on 17 May 2021, the membership of the band is rounded out by the following:

• guitarist David Kennedy
• drummer Ilan Rubin
• bassist Matt Rubano

And those same four individuals are also individually credited as the authors and producers of Euphoria.

As of that above date, Angels & Airwaves’ best-received album was actually their first, 2006’s “We Don’t Need to Whisper” The project got as high as number 4 on the Billboard 200. And as far as their biggest hit song it was also the lead single, “The Adventure” (2006), from that selfsame project.

Meanwhile their last studio album prior to this date was “The Dream Walker” (2014), and the band has released a few EPs to round out the 2010s:

• 2015’s …Of Nightmares
• 2016’s Chasing Shadows 
• 2017’s We Don’t Need to Whisper Acoustic

None of those projects did particularly well on the Billboard 200. However, Angels & Airwaves has apparently retained enough of a fanbase to generate quite few headlines with the dropping of “Euphoria”. 

“Euphoria”

And this track (“Euphoria”) is a standalone single as well as their first release of 2021. Moreover, as explained by the DeLonge, this track is meant to harp back to “the post-hardcore days of (his) youth”, as the current “music world… seems to be absent guitars, angst and emotional authenticity”.

Angels & Airwaves (commonly abbreviated AvA) teased Euphoria shortly before its release using a package which was sent to subscribers of their premium fan club (dubbed The Empire Club). And said package creatively included a note resembling a classified government document, some global coordinates (pointing to upcoming live shows) and even a cassette tape player with sort of an encrypted message.