I caught The Airborne Toxic Event last night at the Dublin Castle in Camden (great, grungy venue to catch raw, indie rock). They are an up-and-coming band based in LA (Loz Feliz to be specific). They were on night 25 of a tour of the UK having them play 30 gigs in 30 days (file under "it seemed like a good idea at the time"). And while they definitely showed the effects of such a marathon - the singer's voice started to go towards the end -- they rocked.
Their sound has echoes of a number of indie bands. In fact, Pitchfork (Bitchfork?) gave their album a lowly 1.6 for being so derivative, to which their lead singer, Mikel Jollett, putting his journalist skills to work, penned an articulate response. Whatever the case, I dug their sound - reminded me of a non-self conscious Interpol combined with some, it can't be denied, Arcade Fire, what with the violin and their anthemic riffs.
Hat tip to my friend Mark for the lowdown on the gig and, at 6 quid a pop, the best value gig I've been to this year! Besides finishing up their UK tour this year, they'll also be doing some shows in NYC, Boston & Philly, so catch them if you can.
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