The Airborne Toxic Event: Happiness Is Overrated EP
The Airborne Toxic Event: Happiness Is Overrated EP
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Monday, 01, Jun 2009 04:02
Mercury, out June 8th.
In a nutshell...
An album highlight gets single release
What's it all about?
Despite only properly forming around two years ago, the buzz around The Airborne Toxic Event has grown dramatically. The Californian band's latest release is a four-track EP which includes a highlight from their self-titled debut album, Happiness Is Overrated, as well as new song I Don't Want to Be On TV and session recordings of tracks Something New and Sometime Around Midnight.
Who's it by
Personal difficulties led songwriter and vocalist Mikel Jollett to get the band together in Los Angeles. His 'seize the day' attitude after a health scare rubbed off on guitarist Stephen Chen, bassist Noah Harmon, strings player Anna Bulbrook and drummer Daren Taylor, and The Airborne Toxic Event was... well, born.
The first attention they got on this side of the Atlantic was after the gargantuan epic Sometime Around Midnight began to get airplay on a number of radio stations. Grounded in the same melancholia as the Smiths' How Soon Is Now?, it struck a chord with many on a level that the rest of the band's self-titled debut failed to emulate.
However, they must be doing something right, as this EP is being released in support of sold-out UK dates - including a couple of arena support slots with Razorlight.
As an example...
2And speaking of little Miss Catherine I feel swell/Oh well/Because losing you was something I always did so well." - Happiness is Overrated
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
The band have turned heads in the past 12 months but if anything's going to be getting them awards, it would probably just be Sometime Around Midnight in all honesty.
What the others say
"A band on the cusp of becoming a fully-formed force to be reckoned with." - The Fly
"Widescreen rock of a very high quality." - Guardian
So is it any good?
Well, it's a bit difficult to answer that question really. Happiness is Overrated - with a misleadingly slow intro that leads into muscular indie rock of the highest quality - is arguably the second best song on the band's debut album behind the much-talked about Sometime Around Midnight. Because of that, there are certainly no complaints about the decision to use it as a lead-off track for the EP.
However, as the promo CD only features that song, it is difficult to say if the package is that good overall.
If the acoustic version of Sometime Around Midnight included on it is one originally released via iTunes, this writer can confirm that it is enjoyable but lacks the same oomph as the searing original. Something New is relatively pleasant on the album, so the KCRW session version on here will also probably quite good. Unfortunately, having never heard I Don't Want To Be On TV, it would be difficult to say if it was any cop.
So all in all, the band get top marks for seeing the airplay potential of Happiness... but lose a few for forgetting to put the rest of the EP's contents on the promo.
7/10
Rob Dixon