New York City electro-rockers Black Taxi wield their infectious melodies and technicolor textures with all the subtly of a shotgun blast to the face. And they wouldn’t have it any other way. Their mix of pop proclivities and punk attitude — along with a healthy helping of dance rhythms — is meant to be strung up in front of everyone, with everything exposed and flailing about in the wind. This is not music that leaves anything left to the imagination but confronts the listener head on in a rush of guitars, ebullient beats, and vibrating synths. And their latest release, the Chiaroscuro EP (out September 10th on No Shame), cements their penchant for appropriating sounds and ideas from multiple genres, while always creating something cohesive and unique from the various pieces. Blending 80’s art-rock, synth-pop, and a straight up indie rock chug, the band pours these genres together into a giant boiling cauldron of influences and come away with something that takes the best of each and leaves the rest to die by the wayside.
On Chiaroscuro, Black Taxi seem more confident and willing to throw themselves completely into their music. Where most bands would have some appearance of separation between themselves and the music, no such delineation exists for Black Taxi. The oscillating synths, churning guitars, and rafter-raising vocals all come together is a miasma of hummable melodies and pulsating rhythms. Chiaroscuro marks a seemingly more mature and self-assured (though no less fun) phrase of the band’s development. With the wealth of ideas coursing through the veins of these six songs, it’ll be interesting to see whether the band’s next full-length will continue these electro-pop/moody indie rock excursions or travel some other as-yet-unknown path.
Beats Per Minute is pleased to premiere the stream of Black Taxi’s latest release, the Chiaroscuro EP.
