The Airborne Toxic Event

The Airborne Toxic Event is an American indie rock band formed in 2006 in Los Angeles, California, taking its name from a section of Don DeLillo's postmodern novel White Noise. The band built its identity around a distinctive fusion of guitar-driven rock with orchestral elements — strings and dramatic arrangements — giving their sound a sweeping, cinematic quality within the indie rock landscape.

Their self-titled debut album, released in 2008, produced the breakout single «Sometime Around Midnight», a brooding, string-laced track about a chance encounter with an ex that became the band's signature song and a staple of alternative radio. The album's emotionally raw songwriting, often drawing on frontman Mikel Jollett's personal experiences, resonated widely and established the group as a distinctive voice in the mid-2000s indie rock revival.

Over subsequent albums, the band continued to explore orchestral rock arrangements alongside more straightforward guitar-pop songwriting, maintaining a loyal following built on intense, emotionally direct live performances. The Airborne Toxic Event remains best known for bridging literary sensibility with anthemic, string-augmented rock.