Customer Reviews

The Airborne Toxic Event

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I tell everyone that they have to hear the Airborne Toxic Event. They have the best debut album since the Killers and in my opinion they are even better. They are as good on cd as they are live!

I first saw this band on VH1 Nocturnal State, and was capitavated by the song Sometime Around Midnight. I went out and bought the album the next day, and was not disappointed. Every song was solid and performed with passion. I have bought 5 cds this week and this is the only one that I have played more than once. I strongly suggest you give this album a try...you will not be disappointed.


It has been several months since I posted this review and I have bought at least a hundred more cds. Hands down this is my favorite cd of 2008. It does not even compare to such media darlings as TV On the Radio. If you enjoy the ATE than I suggest you also look at the Nationals but otherwise the Airborne Toxic have their own unique sound and style. The songs are catchy and the lead singer has an intersting voice that is easy to enjoy. I tell people who ask me for a recommendation that you must get the AIrborne Toxic Event. It is a 5 star cd in my book.

After seeing The Airborne Toxic Event at Lollapalooza, I completely changed my mind about this album. This band should release these songs live, with all the grunge and noise those recordings deliver. There was a ton of passion in that performance. Relistening to the CD, I can now hear something very different in their music.

On first listening two months ago, I really didn't care for this album, the group seemed like a wanna be British Pop band that was derivative blending into the woodwork - in fact I renamed them Toxic Avenger I loved them that little. That Lollapalooza performance (no I'm a bit old to attend Lolla, I didn't want to be that creepy old guy hanging out there - I watched the live streaming performance) really changed my mind. I hadn't really noticed the fine guitar playing, the passion of the vocals, a driving beat that wasn't a rehash of many other bands like Modest Mouse or Elvis Costello or some random British pop band. The mash up of the live performance compared to a perfectly recorded song, I acquired the flavor of The Airborne Toxic Event.

This is an approachable album, cutting across a wide range of music tastes. This is an album where lyrics are important, intelligent, and worth hearing. The lead singer has a good solid clear middle tone voice that clearly annuciates the words. They do have a Franz Ferdinand, Modest Mouse, Cure, Elvis Costello sound. Where these other artists swallow virtually every lyric, The Airborne Toxic Event clearly sings every word. The guitar playing is outstanding.

The recording is crystal clear. Each instrument is highlighted perfectly. The really good guitar playing is well positioned directly behind the vocals. A couple of songs have a very slight reverb added to the vocals. Bottom line, this is a very sharp well recorded album. There is a little bit of the problem. They produced out some of the passion from these songs. Live, its clear there's a ton of passion. Maybe the studio recording is just a bit too sterile.

Three songs stand out, Gasoline, Wishing Well, and Sometime Around Midnight. Gasoline doesn't play well in the preview mode, the song changes a lot from those opening 10 or 20 seconds. Sometime Around Midnight is a great song about meeting a beautiful woman in a bar, but losing her to a stranger. I could see this song as part of a film soundtrack. Missy was my least favorite song of the selection, it was a little too sing songy.

Overall, the whole album is worth downloading or purchasing. A very fine debut album.

I'm a big fan of indie music but I think the genre has become a bit too repetitive lately with too many bands attempting to sound like The Shins or Death Cab for Cutie. For those of you who feel the same you should definitely check out The Airborne Toxic Event. Singer Mikel Jollett has a very pleasant voice that is very fresh in a music industry that loves to mimic Chris Martin. The tracks on the self titled album are really different from each other yet still feel like they belong on the same album together.

The Airborne Toxic Event incorporates strings and pianos into some of their songs which adds another whole new depth to the album Some songs use strings and some don't but none of them sound the same. Personally I thought Sometime Around Midnight, Wishing Well, and Happiness is Overrated but the album really is a well diversified album. It may be their debut album but it feels like The Airborne Toxic Event matures a lot from the first track Wishing Well to the final track Innocence.

Music is all about finding what's next in the business. While I don't think The Airborne Toxic Event will perform well on the mainstream chart I think they will find their place amongst the indie and alternative fans. This is one band you don't want to miss.

I 4-starred this only because the deluxe edition is a better value. 5 additional songs for a buck and a half is hard to beat, and the bonus tracks don't disappoint. "The Girls in Their Summer Dresses" has a wonderful Morrisey-esque sound, while "The Winning Side" combines an unforgettable hook with blistering angry lyrics, a stark contrast from the album's otherwise melancholy and self-loathing tone. The acoustic renditions of "Gasoline" and "Sometime Around Midnight" are every bit as good as the originals. Only "This Losing" falls short of the high standard set by the rest of the album, and it's still a great song on its own.

When I ordered this CD, I had never heard of the band. I have found myself listening more and more to indie/alternative music since that is what my daughter likes and I thought I would get something that we hadn't listened to yet.

There are ten tracks on this album and overall, I think they are all very good. As I have listened to this over time I have noticed how much I appreciate the excellent guitar, full lyrics and nice tone of the lead vocalist (Mikel Jollett). The tempos of many of the songs are close to the same, but a few of them start out slow (more ballad-like) and then build to the more frantic pace later which is nice. One track that I particularly enjoyed is "Innocence". The melody is haunting and I find myself stopping whatever I am doing and just listening to the first two minutes of this every time it comes up on the rotation. There are no vocals during the beginning and the melody just takes you away.

Good band, good music.

One track after the next is catchy, interesting, and surprising. Real thought went into these songs. Musicianship is top-notch. Engineering leaves the listener with a "live" feel, but clarity and nuance to the experience. Buy this one...this band is a rarity. Oh yeah, it's a great driving disc!

I came of age during the stone age of Sub Pop, and it's very rare now, in my dotage, that I'd go all dippy for a band. In fact, I feel weird digging bands that are half my age. But the song, sometime around midnight, came on the radio and within seconds I was jotting down key phrases to go google. Apparently, U2's the Edge did the same thing. I love the whole CD - it's not polished, true, but I prefer it that way. It's old and young at the same time, and I'm just guessing that they're closer to my age than the youngsters, because they know how to properly sing about heartache and life's litte suck-ages. I just hope they don't get too popular.

At first listen, you think Arcade Fire and The Killers had a beautiful baby boy - but the louder and longer you play this, the more you realize this sound is fresh and very pure. Taking a bit of a leap, its a funked up grandson of Whipping Boy's "Heartworm" - achingly confessional lyrics with monster hooks. "...Midnight" stands out stylewise from the rest of the album - much more grand, certainly the set closer made for dark arenas lit by iPhones. The rest of the songs are choppier, but no less fun. I'm hoping the deluxe version's bonus tracks become available as single song downloads now that I've plunged on the album.

According to Wikipedia, Mikel Jollet had a hellish week in March of 2006 - his mother was diagnosed with cancer, he broke up with his girlfriend, and he was diagnosed with alopecia and vitiligo.

He started writing journal entries but soon came to the realization they sounded like song lyrics. With a combination of Daren Taylor, Anna Bulbrook, Noah Harmon and Steven Chen, The Airborne Toxic Event was born.

Here's a breakdown of the individual tracks, with snippets of my favorite lyrics:

(1) Wishing Well -For a song about self-loathing, this one has a surprisingly peppy beat. Favorite lyrics: "You just want to feel like a coin that's been tossed in a wishing well...like you were just a wish that could turn out well."

(2) Papillon - This song is an interesting mix of opposites - A punk rock riff starts up the song, which is about sitting around & doing nothing. Favorite Lyrics: "When you walk away, I want to stay. Don't leave me here to pace and pray."

(3) Gasoline - A thick bass line starts off this tune for lamenting love (lust?) lost. No matter how many girls he goes through, he can't forget that girl at age 17. Favorite lyrics: "Let's burn ourselves up until we scream...like gasoline."

(4) Happiness is Overrated - Feeling melancholy? This song is your anthem. I didn't care too much for this one, since it felt like Mikel had writer's block with the repetitive lyrics. Favorite Lyrics: None

(5) Does This Mean You're Moving On? - If there's one song on this album that sums up Mikel's feelings over his breakup in 2006, this is the one. Heading to his girl's place, he discovers she's not alone, but he doesn't want to believe it's over. Favorite Lyrics: "When the words are wrong and you're hanging on another guy's arm, does this mean you're moving on?"

(6) This Is Nowhere - Does misery love company? Apparently so. In this little ditty, our singer doesn't want to spend another night drinking himself sick or loaning cigarettes to someone else. Favorite lyrics: "I can't make any sense of you or this or anything..."

(7) Sometime Around Midnight - Here's another one about the one that got away...as the singer drinks at a bar, his former girl comes over to ask how he is, then leaves with another man, making sure he sees. This tune isn't lamenting like track #5, it sounds downright stalk-y. Favorite lyrics: "...there's a change in your emotions when all these memories come rushing like feral waves to your mind."

(8) Something New - While in a downward spiral, our singer wonders if there's something to break his habit of drugs and calm his nerves...hoping to find it in love, but it looks like it won't be happening. Favorite Lyrics: "I remember when you told me you felt saved...and you promised me you'd lay flowers on my grave..."

(9) Missy - for a twist, this song offers both male and female viewpoints...she didn't want to be alone, and he tries to convince her to come back because he's still got some good in him. As his sincerity reaches a fever pitch, the song changes from its simple folk intro to a punk tune. Favorite lyrics: "I think if you had stuck around you'd see all the honest attempts at integrity I once had."

(10) Innocence - wrapping up this album is an interesting song - it starts off slow paced and then crescendos into a peppy guitar tune. Again, we listen to melancholy lyrics about the girl that's gone. Favorite lyrics: "...and we're not guts, we're just hacks, all that life amongst the cracks."

As you can see, the dominant theme here is about a lost love and pining for affections that go unrequited. Clearly, Mikel is looking to channel his angst into song and for the most part, he succeeded. I'm hoping his next album will be a little more varied because EVERY song on this album was about broken relationships, and there's so much more to write about and sing about.

The first word that came to mind when I started listening to this CD was "hyper", but that's not a bad thing. There was something about this CD that reminded me of the early 90s, and other reviewers have it right on when they said it's got a flavor that is very Cure, or perhaps The Smiths. It's hard to pinpoint just where their influences are. This is the kind of CD that you pop into the CD player on a road trip and keep everyone happy. Your indie rock friends won't be impressed by the great find and your wonderful taste in music, but they won't sticking their fingers in their ears and accusing your of trying to kill them. Your top 40 friends won't be running out to buy the CD, but this isn't so inaccessible that they will be questioning your sanity and asking you if you are sure that you put the CD in right side up.

This CD is definitely good enough for me to add to the Zune (yes, I'm one of the few people on earth who has a Zune) and I would even consider purchasing the sophomore effort from this band, just to see which direction their musical compass ends up pointing.

I will suggest, if you are looking at this CD, buy a hard copy versus a download. The liner notes are more than just a list of songs and credits.