Black Taxi ‘Chiaroscuro’ EP

Words by Christine Loughran

By definition, the title of Black Taxi’s new EP, Chiaroscuro, translates in Italian to the contrast between dark and light in an artistic setting.

Out this September, the EP lives up to its name with towering build-ups, snappy choruses and harmonies wedged between guitar and synthesizer solos that aptly show off the skill-set of each member.

Chiaroscuro follows the group’s 2012 full-length album, We Don’t Know Any Better, and is their first record to be released since recently partnering with the label No Shame. The Brooklyn rockers laid down the six tracks in Austin, Texas and at No Shame Studios in New York.

The EP kicks off with ‘The Runner’, which, incidentally, is a great track to exercise to. The song opens with a steady guitar build-up that soon gives way to powerhouse choruses, giving off the same feeling you get during a workout when the muscles are just starting to loosen up and you’re about to hit that first adrenaline rush.

‘Can’t Stop Shaking’ truly shines in all its 80’s synth-pop glory, allowing listeners to get lost in its ups and downs over a span of just a few minutes. If this song was recorded in a different era, it may have sounded some of the B-roll footage used in The Fugitive.

The remix to ‘Can’t Stop Shaking’ again reminds audiences that Black Taxi hasn’t forgotten their flair for the electronic. In just over five minutes of spaced-out beats mixed with a few guitar strums in the background, it probably wouldn’t be a stretch to hear a DJ play this track alongside one from an act like The Polish Ambassador.

Since the release of the EP’s first single ‘House on Fire’, Black Taxi’s vocalist, Bill Mayo, says fans are already rocking out to the new jams. “People are cheering just as loud for the new stuff,” he said in an interview with us earlier this summer. “Chiaroscuro is a paradigm shift from what people expect from Black Taxi.”

The Chiaroscuro EP from Black Taxi is set to be released on September 10, 2013.