The Airborne Toxic Event

The Airborne Toxic Event has built up a significant buzz by marrying the confessional literacy of Bright Eyes with the post-new-wave dance-ability of Franz Ferdinand. Island Records certainly saw potential in the band, as the label re-released the band’s debut in 2009 as well as a follow-up, the Happiness Is Overrated EP. Between studio albums, the fires were kept burning in 2010 with All I Ever Wanted: Live From Walt Disney Concert Hall, a documentary capturing the band’s big “nontraditional” show featuring a children’s choir, a high school marching band, and traditional Mexican folkórico dancers. Now on a major label, this year’s follow-up, All At Once, downplayed the melodrama in favor of radio-ready hooks, as evidenced by the album’s lead single, “Changing.”

Updated 11/09/2011