The Taxpayers – Evil Everywhere
“Bastards!” That’s the way that fabulous folk-punk turned pop-rock bands The Taxpayers have been portraying themselves since their earliest recordings. But there are types and types of bastards. There are those who smoke a cigarette out of the corner of their mouth, rob banks and drive incredibly fast cars when running away. These are not the kinds of bastards that The Taxpayers are.
Nah, they’re the kinds of people whose breath smells of alcohol through the recording and who you can imagine wearing the same sweater that’s been coming undone for the past few years. They write songs about others like them, not, I’d like to believe, because they’re positioning themselves within a wealthy niche, but because these are the only people they’ve had a chance to study.
On “Evil Everywhere,” The Taxpayers finally get to the point that fans and critics always assumed that they’d reach – no return. In a Robert Johnson–comes-back-to-life-and-joins-a-funk-band manoeuvre, The Taxpayers lose hope and join the party. This may just be dancing on a landmine, but, for the time being, it ain’t no drag. Who knows where The Taxpayers are going to be in five years? Who knows if they’ve been lying all along and merely making up these songs on holidays away from their jobs in finance? For the moment, however, they’re one of the great alternative bands around.
Doctor Steevo – Papiers Maches
Pop music can’t stay in one place for very long. It changes quicker than the fashion trends dictated by Milan or Paris. Pop trends define a moment in time. And, with each passing year, pop trends change quicker than ever before.
That’s why pop stars don’t have the luxury of staying the same for too long. They have to change, at least, while their presence is still relevant. Once they no longer look capable of having hits, instead of being put out to pasture, they’re giving a Las Vegas show.
This is why even the most commercially successful pop stars who’ve made it through years of fighting in the charts have experimented with sound, concepts and daring ideas. Even the most chart-minded pop star has an avant-garde spirit in their mind.
The thing about Doctor Steevo’s “Papiers Maches” is that it will confuse you. Surprises are the best thing about pop music, after all. I predict that if you know nothing about the performer, you’ll find it hard to tell when the music was made or whether this is an underground or commercial endeavour. Instead, “Papiers Maches” ends up sounding like a radio program being beamed from an alternate reality, one where experimental pop is king.
