We Don't Need to Whisper is the debut studio album by the American rock band Angels & Airwaves. Recorded at Neverpants Ranch in San Diego, California, and produced by guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge, the album was released on May 23, 2006, through Geffen Records. In February 2005, DeLonge (who desired to spend more time with his family) departed from his former band Blink-182 after months of heated exchanges and increasing tension within the trio and spent the following three weeks in complete isolation, contemplating his life, career, and future in music. Inspired by personal crises and global events, We Don't Need to Whisper was conceptualized as DeLonge taught himself to play instruments and created his own home studio. He recruited his longtime friend and guitarist David Kennedy of Box Car Racer, as well as drummer Atom Willard and bassist Ryan Sinn to form Angels & Airwaves, who were primarily inspired by arena rock groups such as U2 and The Police. DeLonge's later public statements regarding the band's music prompted media interest and concern from his relatives and family. We Don't Need to Whisper peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 and has since sold nearly 800,000 copies. Three of the four singles released in promotion of the album reached the top 20 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, with "The Adventure" peaking at number five. It received largely mixed reviews from music critics, many who celebrated the album's obvious musical influences but found its contents rather pretentious. A documentary film based on the recording process of the album and early history of the band, Start the Machine, was released in 2008. We Don't Need to Whisper is the band's only album to feature a Parental Advisory label, though subsequent albums also contain explicit language. It is also their only album to feature bassist Ryan Sinn. Background Blink-182 consisted of guitarist Tom DeLonge, bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker, and by 2004 had been regarded as the most successful pop punk act of the time since the releases of Enema of the State (1999) and Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (2001). During its brief hiatus in 2002, DeLonge suffered a herniated disc in his back and collected several darker musical ideas he viewed unsuitable for the band; the ideas were used in supergroup Box Car Racer's self-titled album, recorded with assistance from Hazen Street guitarist and longtime