Remember that period of time in the late ‘90’s/early ‘00s when it seemed like there really just wasn’t shit to listen to in terms of new music? When everything (with a few exceptions, of course) was all bubble gum and pop princesses and, well, gross? Then bands like The Strokes came along and were credited with this whole “garage rock revival” and, whether you thought they deserved all the hype or not, somehow the music scene just seemed a little bit more exciting again? Call me crazy, but that’s how I saw it at the time and, although I do not think we’re in quite the same slump, it’s been quite awhile since I’ve come across a new band that I could really get behind.
I’m not going to go all the way here and say The Airborne Toxic Event is going to be the new saving grace of a sluggish music industry, but I will jump on the wagon of hype for this band and insist that you check out this debut album and decide for yourself. It’s truly fantastic, but awfully hard for me to categorize. Spin magazine described their debut EP as “what would happen if Morrissey and Franz Ferdinand shared a summer home.” WTF does that mean? There’s actually been a whole lot of band references thrown at these guys--I’ve seen the FF one quite a few times (and I don’t really get it), as well as The Smiths/Morrissey, Interpol, The Strokes, and even Echo & the Bunnymen. But I think the most appropriate description I’ve seen was in the L.A. Times: “poetry you could dance to.” Yeah, that’s it.
I was hooked after I watched the band perform its first single, “Sometime Around Midnight” on Carson Daly’s late night show. But after seeing them live last week and then picking up this album, “Midnight” is hardly representative of their overall sound. It’s a badass song, don’t get me wrong, but it’s more of a slow, melodic, heartbreaker leading up to a big, angry finale. Whereas the rest of the album is, well, “poetry you could dance to.” With heavy guitar riffs interlaced with well placed viola and keyboard melodies, foot-tapping drum beats and catchy, sing-along lyrics, I dare you to spin this record and not jump around like no one is watching, yet perhaps feel a pinge of guilt while doing so as you listen to the “poetry” and realize you’re most often bouncing to the tune of someone else’s misery. But hey, what are you gonna do--this misery sounds good.
Since these kids are relatively new to the scene, I guess a 30 second history lesson is in order. From what I could dig up, lead singer and guitarist Mikel Jollett put this shindig together within the last couple of years when he was actually intending to write a novel. From listening to these songs it’s pretty clear he was going through some personal shit (breakup, diagnosis with an autoimmune disease, mother’s diagnosis with cancer, you get the picture), and apparently his prose jumped from the pages of a novel to an album leaf.
He assembled some kickass musicians, including guitarist Steven Chen, bassist Noah Harmon, drummer Daron Taylor and keyboardist/violist/violinist and sometime backup singer Anna Bulbrook, then tacked on a quirky name (from Don DeLillo’s novel White Noise--never read it, but apparently it describes a chemical plant explosion which creates an enormous black cloud--did I mention Jollett must have been going through some heavy shit at the time?), and hit the L.A. music scene pretty hard. Apparently it worked--Rolling Stone named TATE one of the top 25 bands on Myspace, the Los Angeles Times called them the band to watch in 2008, and “Sometime Around Midnight” got put into regular rotation on KROQ before the band even had a label, manager, publicist or promoter.
The Airborne Toxic Event is now signed to west coast indie label Majordomo and released this debut August 5, 2008. Get it--and let it get you!
Track Listing:
1. Wishing Well
2. Papillon
3. Gasoline
4. Happiness Is Overrated
5. Does This Mean You’re Moving On?
6. This Is Nowhere
7. Sometime Around Midnight
8. Something New
9. Missy
10. Innocence
The 411: Finally, I have a new crush. And although it's certainly been awhile, I don't think I'm overreacting here. This could be love. Get the album.
