The January Taxi
"Keep Quiet, They Might Hear Us" CD
Vacant
Cage Records
Genres: alt rock, indie rock
Vacant Cage
W Northfield Blvd
#215
Murfreesboro TN
371929
Sep 6 - 12 2004 |
There's nothing wrong with treading near "alt rock"
territory. A band like The January Taxi can get a lot of
slack for their marketable, radio-friendly sound, but they salvage
some credibility due to distinctly strong songwriting and a
willingness to forge their own creative path. The
songs on the Keep Quiet, They Might Hear Us mini-album have the
potential for mainstream accessibility, but the right hooks at the
right times keep them from dipping into mediocrity.
The key to the January Taxi is a fine balance between loud
and soft. Their melodies are comprised of juxtapositions between
slow, pensive pop moments and hard, guitar-heavy rock parts.
These types of contrasts fuel "Jome" and album highlight
"Starlight the Sun." The songs that eschew this style
aren't as memorable, although "The Ashtray Parade" remains
successful due to some really effective hooks - on the other hand,
"Where It Was" is bland, derivative, and quite whiny.
Keep Quiet, They Might Hear Us is a promising mini-album for
The January Taxi. If they can introduce a bit of variety
to their sound, a future full-length could really do some damage.
80%
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
7 tracks, distributed by the
label, released 2004] |
