The Airborne Toxic Event: Such Hot Blood

Five years ago, this LA quintet were the toast of the town. Hailed as indie’s next big thing thanks to a cocktail of confessional lyrics and stadium-swelling choruses, it appeared that the music world was theirs for the taking. Unfortunately, the initial excitement generated aroud their calling card ‘Sometime Around Midnight’ fizzled out quicker than a
dodgy firework.
Such Hot Blood is their third album. According to the group’s leader Mikel Jollett, when he was writing material for the record he repeatedly asked himself “What would Bruce Springsteen do?” I’m not sure setting the bar that high is a good idea. Such Hot Blood rarely reaches heights that would merit a comparison with the Boss.
That said, the album has its moments. The Irish folk-tinged ‘Bride & Goom’ is a definite highlight; the playful, relatively understated ‘Elizabeth’ is another gem thanks to its self-aware lyrics. “She said all your songs are sad songs,” Jollett intones, “Why do you always make me feel like shit?” But making lost creativity a theme has its perils: the likes of moody slow-burner ‘The Secret’ and the Killers-esque ‘The Fifth Day’ are ambitious but they lack the heft that the Springsteen references promised. In other words, Such Hot Blood is a classic mixed bag.

Key Track: 'Elizabeth'