Alternative rock band Angels and Airwaves will headline a show with Say Anything on Thursday at the Lifestyle Communities Pavilion.

The group is touring in support of its new album “Love,” which was released in February. The album is the third for what some might label a “super group” in the vein of Velvet Revolver and Chickenfoot.

Blink-182 guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge began working with Box Car Racer guitarist on what would become Angels and Airwaves’ first album, “We Don’t Need To Whisper,” in 2005. Drummer Adam “Atom” Willard of The Offspring joined in with Distiller’s bassist Ryan Sinn, who would later be replaced by Matt Wachter in 2007. At the time of the group’s creation, Blink-182 had just gone on an indefinite hiatus.

The group differs heavily from Blink-182, featuring ample amounts of synthesizers and other effects-driven music. “Love” contains even higher levels of effects, amounting to what DeLonge referred to as “space rock” in an interview.

The description is accurate, considering that the music will serve as the backdrop to a sci-fi film the band is releasing later this year.

“We approached writing the record with the mindset that we’re scoring a movie,” Wachter said. “We took a lot of the songs and deconstructed it and applied it to the movie.”

Wachter pointed out the sections of instrumental interludes on the album that he said were done in anticipation of placing them within a movie. He said the sounds on the album were the product of trying some new things.

“We wanted to experiment with some new gear,” he said. He added with a laugh that “the result was a lot of synth.”

“Love” the movie will be about a man trapped on the international space station while the Earth collapses below. Tom DeLonge has said that elements of time travel will also be involved. Confusing possibly, but Wachter said that like the album, the movie would deal with themes of loneliness and isolation.

The album was released strictly as a free download on the band’s Modlife website. The band said that the free release was the result of “corporate underwriting,” but Wachter said the goal was to attract new fans to the group by not making them pay for the music. The group ended up releasing the album itself.

“We ended up financing the record ourselves,” Wachter said with a pause. “And going into a little bit of debt.”

Despite the financial hit, the group has largely succeeded in its goal of getting the album out to large amounts of people. “Love” has been downloaded more than 500,000 times from the band’s website, and Wachter said a majority of the band’s tour dates have been sellouts thus far.

“[The sellouts are] a huge surprise because there wasn’t the big push from the label,” he said. “We were a little nervous going into it. It’s just proof that putting out the free record worked.”

One of the band’s priorities is keeping in touch with its fan base. Modlife was actually created by DeLonge in 2007 as a way to communicate directly with fans via live video broadcasts and instant messaging, as well as make downloads such as “Love” available. Many bands, such as the White Stripes and Korn, have begun using the website, as well. DeLonge owns the site.

Wachter said the site has gained some big-name users simply because it works.
“It’s about taking things into your own hands,” he said. “And I think the bands that are using it have definitely found out that it is working.”

Blink-182 is going back on tour this summer, but Wachter said DeLonge’s involvement with his other band doesn’t trouble Angels and Airwaves’ members. He said how much the band does is up to how much DeLonge tries to do.

“It’s a juggling act for Tom,” Wachter said. “He has a lot on his plate right now. It’s just a matter of how much Tom is willing to take on.”

For now, the band will focus on its current tour. Wachter said the band hasn’t started thinking about what comes after the music and film versions of “Love.”

“It’s hard to say where we’re going to go with the next record. I don’t think we’ve thought that far ahead,” he said, adding that taking a loss producing the album wouldn’t deter them from doing it again. “No regrets. It’s what we set out to do, and we did it.”