The Airborne Toxic Event: All At Once

The Airborne Toxic Event
All At Once
Majordomo/Island Records [2011]









Fire Note Says: The Airborne Toxic Event work to find a balance on their sophomore follow up All At Once.

Album Review:
The Airborne Toxic Event took us by surprise on their debut, as it featured plenty of smart lyrics, catchy hooks, and had a perfect pace. The bands follow up, All At Once, does not fully live up to the debut but still has some highlights that not only expand the bands sound but also brings along a bit more musical muscle. This happens right from the opening title track, as its sonic boom builds in intensity and lets things rip for over 5 minutes. "Numb" is a foot tapper that has all the right hooks for a radio single but also takes on a deeper meaning knowing that lead singer Mikel Jollett recently lost four members of his family in the span of a year. Lines like "But if I drink tonight, I'll get you off my mind" and "I just want to be numb" make perfect sense. Emotionally driven tracks work for the brooding Airborne Toxic Event here but the more bouncing "Changing" and grandiose ballad "All For A Woman" seem to try too hard and don't yield memorable results. On the other hand, The Airborne Toxic Event perform a sure fire fan favorite acoustic closer in "The Graveyard Near The House" and the concert ready tale told in "The Kids Are Ready To Die" that then transitions into the rocking "Welcome To Your Wedding Day" seems to work and confirm our early positive take on the group. All At Once is not a bad record and does avoid the sophomore slump but still has too many moments that come off flat instead of thrilling. There is always a balance between rock and pop that a band like The Airborne Toxic Event need to have for success and even though it does not take full effect here - they have all the tools and will certainly be back.

Key Tracks: "Numb", "The Kids Are Ready To Die", "The Graveyard Near The House"

Bands With Similar Fire:
The Killers
My Chemical Romance
The Strokes

The Airborne Toxic Event: The Airborne Toxic Event [Fire Note Review 8/8/08]

The Airborne Toxic Event Website
The Airborne Toxic Event MySpace
The Airborne Toxic Event Facebook
Majordomo Records
Island Records

-Reviewed by Christopher Anthony