Artists can keep their fans waiting for a new release, building up the anticipation by releasing singles to music blogs or album streams to subscription services. Or they could make like The Airborne Toxic Event, who is currently releasing a series of stripped-down, single-shot videos for every song on their album.
The L.A. rock band is releasing Monday the video for “Changing,” their first single off of their new album, All at Once, due out April 26. The video is part of a weekly series that the band calls the “Bombastic” (the official video for “Changing” has already premiered).
All at Once is the band’s second album; the first, self-titled disc came out in 2008. The first album and the band’s performances in general were well-received by publications such as the Boston Herald and the Los Angeles Times, although notably shunned by the ever-critical Pitch fork. Still, the band didn’t take the blog’s words like a load of lead to the heart, instead penning an open letter to Pitchfork.
Yes, The Airborne Toxic Event is resolutely a band that sticks to its proverbial guns. For instance, the band doesn’t see the “Bombastic” series as a marketing shill, but an art all its own. (This is an attitude they share with yesterday’s Music Monday artist, Lovett.) The video above features dance troop Strikers All-Stars, for example, adding a rhythmic mood to the barebones vid.
Still, we can’t help but take away a lesson from the “Bombastic” series (they’re on video number eight, by the way): If you’re an artist in today’s tech-heavy world, you have more opportunities to reach out to your fans and share content with them than ever before. Sure, John in WhoKnowsWhere, Illinois, might not be able to make it out to your show, but he can check out that video y ou upload to...
