Afternoon Aural: Airborne Toxic Event
“Airborne Toxic Event” turned us off immediately. Who names themselves after Don DeLillo’s White Noise, one of the most over-hyped books on our shelves?! We refused to judge the band by its cover, however, and gave this video a go-go. The track’s called “Does This Mean It’s a pretty easy listen, because lead singer (and former SOMA editor) Mikel Jollet’s voice sounds like about a billion other male singers, but in a good way. Sort of.
The simile isn’t even adequate; “White Noise” is tolerableGawd as if we don’t have to live in daily gagosus from airborn toxic events: it’s like a suicide wish!
His voice and the pace of the song reminds me of some of the songs made by They Might Be Giants. It’s easy to listen to it, and the song has some pretty decent hooks. I’m sure some will act pretentious about it and say it’s awful, but it isn’t.