The catchy melodies and soulful lyrics that made you fall in love with Nashville band, Moon Taxi, are back and in full force with the release of Daybreaker. The five-piece band released their debut album, Melodica in 2007 and from there, quickly released a series of successful albums in 2012 and 2013. In their latest album, the band incorporates the heartfelt lyrics and alternative/rock sound that fans have come to know and love, creating an album that is enriched with emotion and undeniably creative.
As a whole, the album focuses around the theme of love–both lost and found. Although this is not an entirely new theme for the band, Daybreaker touches on the more personal aspects of the band’s lives than previous albums, making it a genuine and rare find. With expressive melodies and lyrics you can’t help but sing along to, Moon Taxi has the ability to draw in fans from genres all over the board and their latest release holds true in this capacity.
As the tracks flow from lost love to found, so do the rhythms of each song. “Year Zero” starts off the album on a heavier note, a slow groove with an undeniably catchy chorus. The heavy chords of the first track are a stark contrast to the bouncy “All Day All Night.” Along with “Year Zero,” this was a track released earlier in the year that gained significant popularity with fans on Spotify and YouTube. As the album flows into the next track, “Run Right Back,” the theme of longing for love is notably expressed. The wistful harmonies featured make it one of my personal favorites on the album and the romantic lyrics “I would go forever just to get where you are” are easily relatable to missing your loved ones.
It’s apparent that Moon Taxi’s music is genuine, this trait shining through with enthusiasm on tracks like “Savannah,” “Who’s To Say?,” and “Always.” The band’s mature sound also shines through on this album, with soft instrumentation to highlight their lighter side and heavier guitar riffs to highlight their need for rock and roll. The track “Ready To Go” brings this to light because, although mellow in nature, the song has an undeniably catchy chorus and captivating instrumentation. The short monologue in the middle brings an interesting, unique element to the song as well that fans have not heard in previous albums.
As the heavier sounds of “Ready To Go” come to a close, the opening chords of “Red Hot Lights” set the track up to be one of the livelier on the album. A fiery track, just like the title suggests, the lyrics “But you’ve got the fight in your eyes/ And now it’s shining on the red hot lights” inspire you to get up and make a change, fighting for what you want. The enthusiastic nature of these lyrics sets up the perfect finale with the closing track, “Rooftops.” The light instrumentation in this song really gives the listener a chance to focus on the emotionally heavy lyrics and delicately intertwined harmonies. As the closing lyrics end with “We spent the night on the rooftop/ Between the streets and the stars,” the listener is left in a wistful state between dream and reality–the perfect destination in the overall quest for love.
Daybreaker is an enchanting listen from an accomplished band. As they tell their story of losing love and finding it once again, you will find yourself equally enriched in the journey and inspired by their soulful blend of rock and roll. No stranger to the Athens stage, I can’t wait to see where this band will go next.
Essential Tracks: “All Day All Night,” “Run Right Back,” “Make Your Mind Up” and “Rooftops”
A junior studying journalism and music business at the University of Georgia, Camren spends her time procrastinating under the discover tab on Spotify and taking pictures of her dog. After spending the summer abroad, she has a remarkable appreciation for good gelato, cheap wine and British accents. With favorites like Simon and Garfunkel, Dave Matthews Band, Coldplay and Moon Taxi, she is open to a variety of musical genres and is a connoisseur of any and all music festivals. In her spare time you can find her binge watching her latest obsession on Netflix or dreaming of ways to meet and marry John Krasinski.