Day or Night Be Sure To Hail AM Taxi
AM Taxi release actually does stand a chance.
AM Taxi
We Don't Stand A Chance
Released on Jun 08, 2010
It’s fun to watch tourists who come from places where taxis are not common trying to hail a cab in cities like Chicago or New York. Being unfamiliar with the system they are never sure exactly what the light on top of the cab means. If the light is off does that mean they have a passenger or does the light go on when they have someone in the cab? This often leads to people standing curbside flailing their arms in a very amusing, half-hearted manner. To set the record straight; when the light is on it means the cab is empty and ready to take on passengers.
In the case of We Don’t Stand a Chance, the new release from AM Taxi, the light on top of the cab is definitely on and they are ready to take on new fans. On their third release the band has assembled an excellent mix of sounds combined with lyrics that occasionally border on cheesy but yet really work well within the song structure. The opening track, “Dead Street” even makes reference to Jesus’ bar tab which causes one to wonder if the son of god got tired of turning water into wine and occasionally needed a shot and a beer.
What really propels We Don’t Stand a Chance is the raspy voice of lead singer and guitarist Adam Krier. His tone is reminiscent of the passion that flows from singers like Dave Pirner and Mike Ness. Backing him with a tight ever-so-slightly grungy sound are brothers John and Luke Schmitt on guitar and keyboards respectively along with drummer Chris Smith. Collectively, the music, song structure and vocal cadence pay homage to bands like Pirner’s Soul Asylum, The Pogues and there is even a hint of Bruce Springsteen. More current comparisons would have to include The Airborne Toxic Event and The Lost Prophets.
Kudos should definitely be awarded to producer Mike McCarthy -- known for his work with Spoon, Patty Griffin, And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead -- who got the band to stretch out of their comfort zone on songs like “The Mistake,” “Champaign Toast” and “Reckless Ways.” If the album falls down anywhere it’s on tracks like “Fed Up” or “Woodpecker” where the band seems to lose some of its identity and fall into a formulaic emo/pop sound. But this is hardly the norm and even when it happens the songs aren’t bad, just not as strong as the other tracks.
Hopefully the future will see the band continue to evolve beyond the more typical emo sound by continuing to add more power, angst and blues into their music mix. Until then, We Don’t Stand a Chance actually is very likely to help AM Taxi pick up loads of new passengers. The light is on, go ahead, hail a taxi.
High Point
AM Taxi continues to evolve.
Low Point
The band loses their identity on a few tracks.
Posted by Mike Stern on Jun 08, 2010 @ 11:11 am
