Album Review: All At Once – The Airborne Toxic Event

When the lead singer is a writer that has attempted to write a novel you would expect nothing less than a narrative journey from The Airborne Toxic Event’s sophomore album All At Once. Much like their self titled debut album, each song on All At Once tells a story. Every song will stir an emotion in you – from sad to happy, hopeless to promising, yearning to satisfaction. The album takes the listener through a musical journey of heartbreak and despair to maturing, falling in love and growing old together.

My favorite track on the album is “Half of Something Else” – lead singer Mikal croons “so I think of all the years spent alone/ it’s like you’re searching for something/ to make you feel whole/ like a half of something else/ like you’re half of something else/ just a fraction of yourself“.

“Numb” is another song that you will play over and over again, it evokes memories of heartbreak that everyone has felt in their lifetime.
I don’t know where I am/ I don’t know what I’ve done/ I just go over it, over it and again and again and again/ I can’t sleep at night/ I can’t breathe/ But If I drink tonight I’ll get you off my mind/ And the ever present pit I feel/ I’m turning on some spinning wheel/ Of faces and the scenes I see/ And none of it seems real to me/ Just the bleary haze of the morning still to come/ I just want to be numb

“The Kids Are Ready to Die” is a coming of age track that sounds strongly influenced by Bruce Springsteen. “Oh but punks like us, we were always receiving instruction/ You could burn our clothes, you could wash out the ink and the dye/ But you can’t look me in the eye and say you don’t feel like a little destruction/ And the kids are lined up on the wall and they’re ready to die”.

All At Once, is a great album to listen to.  I highly suggest you check it out if you haven’t already. Available on Amazon.com and iTunes.

 

Stand out tracks:

  • Numb
  • Changing
  • Half of Something Else
  • All I Ever Wanted
  • The Kids Are Ready to Die

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top