Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 28, 2015

B3

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 28, 2015 


SEAN’S SHAMELESS REVIEWS: 

THE AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT

Jeff’s Book Picks By Jeff Brown

The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly 
Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann

In 1925, the legendary British explorer Percy 
Fawcett ventured into the Amazon jungle, in 
search of a fabled civilization. He never returned. 
Over the years countless perished trying to find 
evidence of his party and the place he called “The 
Lost City of Z.” In this masterpiece of narrative 
nonfiction, journalist David Grann interweaves 
the spellbinding stories of Fawcett’s quest for “Z” 
and his own journey into the deadly jungle, as he 
unravels the greatest exploration mystery of the 
twentieth century.

The Dead Key by D. M. 
Pulley 

When engineer Iris Latch 
gets her first field assignment 
out of college, surveying 
an abandoned bank, she’s 
just looking forward to a 
break from her cubicle. 
Instead, hidden among 
cobwebbed desks and dusty 
files untouched for twenty 
years, she finds hints that 
something rotten used to 
go on in the back offices. 
She comes to believe that 
someone else, a young 
secretary named Beatrice 
Baker, may have left those 
clues on purpose,and at great 
risk to herself. The “dead key” 
in the title can grant access to 
wealth and forgotten secrets, 
and the most valuable thing 
it unlocks is Iris’s connection 
to this young woman from 
the past. They share a lonely 
but fierce spirit that won’t let 
them step aside as corrupt and powerful men go 
unpunished. Their stories intertwine even though 
they don’t know each other, and in a strange way, 
they are counting on each other to expose the truth 
at last. Readers voted this book the grand prize 
winner of the 2014 Amazon Breakthrough Novel 
Award. The author, herself an engineer, told said she 
was inspired by her own experience of surveying a 
building that had been vacant since the 1970s. “I 
began to wonder about the people who worked 
in the building when it closed. Walking through 
the empty secretarial pools, I imagined a young 
woman trapped at her desk, holding the key to the 
scandal that ruined the bank. I felt like she wanted 
to tell me what happened.” Put yourself in D. M. 
Pulley’s shoes. Entering an abandoned building for 
the first time, brushing away the dust to find traces 
of other lives—how could you not begin to wonder 
what undisturbed secrets those rooms held?

Single, Carefree, 
Mellow: Short Stories by 
Katherine Heiny 

Maya is in love with both 
her boyfriend and her boss. 
Sadie’s lover calls her as he 
drives to meet his wife at 
marriage counseling. Gwen 
pines for her roommate, 
a man who will hold her 
hand but then tells her that 
her palm is sweaty. And 
Sasha agrees to have a drink 
with her married lover’s 
wife and then immediately 
regrets it. These are the 
women of Single, Carefree, 
Mellow, and in these eleven 
sublime stories they are 
grappling with unwelcome 
houseguests, disastrous 
birthday parties, needy 
but loyal friends, and all 
manner of love, secrets, 
and betrayal. Maya, who 
appears in the title story 
and again in various states of love, forms the 
spine of this linked collection, and shows us 
through her moments of pleasure, loss, deceit, 
and kindness just how fickle the human heart 
can be.

By Sean Kayden

The Airborne Toxic Event 
has enjoyed much success 
of the span of their career 
dating back to 2006. They 
made their mark with 
the self-titled LP in 2008, 
which led them to signing with major label, Island 
Records. With their new label came the re-release of 
their debut album the following year and eventually 
leading them to two more produced records (All 
At Once (2011), Such Hot Blood (2013)). However, 
after a lineup change of the original bassist, 
Noah Harmon, the band switched labels finding 
themselves over at Epic Records, an imprint of Sony 
Music. The establishing years of The Airborne Toxic 
Event demonstrated the band infusing rock and 
orchestral music together. They then proceeded with 
a sound that had a little more flair by incorporating 
synthesizers with the release of All At Once. With 
the new record, Dope Machines, the band is striving 
for something much more significant in meaning 
and overall tone. Sure, the synths are still present, but 
Dope Machines is drenched with raw emotion that 
exceeds anything the band has ever crafted. When 
he’s on point, lead singer Mikel Jollett vocals bleed 
with much catharsis. The lilt of Jollett’s resonance 
carries the listener to a distant place away from all 
turmoil and tribulations. Dope Machines, the fourth 
album from the seasoned LA quintet, is an endeavor 
that artistically surpasses the group’s previously 
praised material. It sheds a light on the human 
spirit in more ways than one, which translates to a 
listening experience that is as irrefutably enjoyable 
as it is entirely moving.

 Dope Machines kicks off with the 80s soaked 
“Wrong.” Right from the beginning, fans of 
Airborne’ will notice the difference. It’s brimming 
with an abundance of liveliness as it showcases the 
band in a whole different light. Title track, “Dope 
Machines” turns up the synths while still being an 
epic rock song. “California” shows that catharsis 
side I mentioned earlier. This bold and beautiful 
ebullient rhapsody is the group’s most infectious 
sounding song off the record. “Time To Be A Man” 
is an essential contribution to Dope Machines. The 
lyrically cogitating tune cuts deep with Jollett’s 
distinctively powerful vocals. Steven Chen’s sharp 
guitar work along side Adrian Rodriguez’ mighty 
electric bass contribute a ton to this blissfully 
impactful track. “My Childish Bride” is driven 
by storytelling lyrics and some harmonies with 
keyboard player and backup vocalist Anna Bulbrook. 
The soft, gentle arrangements are absolutely lovely 
and engaging. It may very well be The Airborne Toxic 
Event’s finest song in their repertoire. However, like 
many of the greats songs found on Dope Machines, 
the band surprises with “The Thing About Dreams.” 
It’s an utterly gorgeous tune that proves the band has 
taken all the right leaps forward. Their artistry has 
progressed so much further along that even if one 
wasn’t a fan before, that could all change with this 
release. This is the album by The Airborne Toxic 
Event that will not only separate them from their 
prior work but also bands currently residing in this 
soundscape. 

 “Something You Lost” continues the same 
vibe of “The Thing About Dreams.” The thought-
provoking tracks offer affecting melodies that will 
stir your soul and rattle every bone in your body. The 
closer “Chains” starts off with a slow tempo before 
blooming into a stunningly structured song. It ends 
the record on a high note, allowing the listener to 
know that anything is possible at any given moment. 
Jollett strongly emphasizes the line “break these 
chains away” as if he is shedding his old skin and 
clearing the path for something or someone brand 
new to fully come into play. The effects of “Chains” 
are nothing shy of awe-inspiring for the listener to 
walk away from. The odyssey of Dope Machines is a 
wondrous, surreal one. The second half the album, 
more specifically the final four tracks are in a league 
of their own. After a near decade together, this fourth 
record is by far their most well crafted, finest work 
of art they have ever produced. The band doesn’t rely 
strictly on the 80s sound to push their own resonance 
to the next level. The Airborne Toxic Event dig deeper 
than they ever had before and the results are utterly 
impressive. 

Grade: 8.5 out of 10

Key Tracks: “Time To Be A Man,” “My Childish 
Bride,” “The Thing About Dreams,” “Chains”


ART IN BLOOM


Creative Arts Group is proud to present Art in 
Bloom, an art exhibition pairing Sierra Madre’s finest 
floral designers with work from our most talented 
artists. Designers will create floral arrangements to 
complement select works of art which may include 
paintings, sculptures, glass, or mixed media to be 
displayed along with the piece of artwork in our 
gallery. An opening reception with wine and hors 
d’oeuvres will be held Friday, March 6 from 7-9 
pm. The show will continue Saturday 11-5 pm, and 
Sunday 10-4 pm. 

Opening Reception Friday, March 6, 2015, 

7:00-9:00 pm

Saturday, March 7, 2015, 10:00-5:00 pm

Sunday, March 8, 2015, 11:00-4:00 pm

CROWN CITY SYMPHONY 

IS GIVING TWO FREE CONCERTS:

MARCH 21, 2PM, AT THE ALTADENA SENIOR CENTER,,

560 E. MARIPOSA, ALTADENA 

MARCH 22, 2PM, AT THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF PASADENA

75 N. MARENGO, PASADENA

Our soloist is soprano Sunjoo Yeo, and our conductor is Marvin Neumann

On the program is “Overture to Don Giovanni” by Mozart

Arias by Gounod, Puccini and Bellini

“Preciosa Overture” by Weber

Ballet Music from Faust by Gounod

Our soloist, Sunjoo Yeo is a current member of the Los Angeles Opera and the Los Angeles 
Master Chorale where she was soloist in the “Messiah” by Handel.with

Grant Gershom as conductor. She also toured Europe with the L.A. Philharmonic

conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. Her complete biography and color photo is

attached--the first and third attachment.


On the Marquee: Notes from the Sierra MadrePlayhouse