Koala Taxi - www.koalataxi.com
Alone In The Car Pool Lane (released 2006)
Self Produced
This quintet from Milwaukee, Wisconsin are still relatively young band, being together from about two years, but garnering some really great support from the local and regional area for their variety of pop meets punk rock. At times sounding more pop than punk, the band performs flawless sugar-laced pills on "Curse" and "Look In The Mirror". Later in the eight track disc, although one track is an instrumental prelude, the band kicks the tempo up a bit to deliver more punk infused tracks that strike me as sounding a lot like Unsung Zeros. When the band does manage to kick out some harder tracks, they take on a sound the comes close to Zebrahead. However, one track "State Bird" specifically reminds me of the Even In Blackouts. I suppose that it can be hard to not sound like someone else in the pop punk genre, few bands manage to keep the scene fresh, and others build upon previous incarnations... I think Koala Taxi fits in the latter group, but they still produce an excellent set of tracks that are well written, produced and executed. The balance of the disc continues in the vein of Unsung Zeros, with a couple of exceptions that allows Koala Taxi to break out and offer something a little different, some piano accompaniment and such. But ultimately, the band is still a pop punk band finding their way through the slog of shitty pop punk. I think Koala Taxi are on the right course, similar to say Fatkid Dodgeball are...straddling the line that separates pop rock from pop punk, and bound for success that reaches a mass audience, as opposed to a defined genre. -MG |
