The musical soundtrack to
Airborne Toxic Event frontman
Mikel Jollett's autobiography of the same name,
Hollywood Park dials back the trashy glam rock of its predecessor in favor of big earnest indie rock with the occasional flourish of gothic folk and Americana-laced post-punk. The titular cut, which is named after the horse track where
Jollett and his brother Tony would often go to spend time with their father, rolls in on a chassis of blazing, late-'70s
Springsteen bombast. The somber "Brother, How Was the War?" delivers a contrasting view of
Jollett's complex youth, which was mired in the discord of having been raised in Synanon, an experimental community in Santa Monica that eventually morphed into a violent cult. Impressionistic renderings of the book's often harrowing ruminations on family, addiction, poverty, and illness abound, with highlights arriving via the pulsing "Come on Out" and the early
Arcade Fire-invoking "Everything I Love Is Broken." The melodies are familiar, but
Jollett's an ace storyteller with a keen sense of when to turn on the thrusters and when to hit the brakes. His expressive voice can go from hushed and brooding to outright explosive, and he applies the cracks in all the right places, which helps to elevate otherwise rote indie anthems like "All These Engagements" into fiery, fist-raising calls to action.
Jollett has mellowed with age -- he's now a father himself -- as has
ATE's nervy, classical-tinged post-punk approach to parsing life's myriad woes, but
Hollywood Park's particular brand of nostalgia is tempered with fire, as it was forged in a crucible of unimaginable discontent. ~ James Christopher Monger