taggart

Taggart’s swaggering debut is a melodic mixture of emo, garage, punk, and alternative that’s just one hit song away from a commercial breakthrough. Poignant, rowdy, melancholy, and reckless, this Philadelphia quartet weaves strong pop hooks into thick guitar-driven arrangements and peppers them with occasional keyboard motifs and vocal harmonies that skim the surface of the Beach Boys and Beatles. Though each member sings from the bottom of a shot glass, the band is able to morph into a myriad of contrasting styles with relative ease as evidenced by the Americana twist of “Chelsea” and “Final Chapter” and the artsy intro to “Empty Introduction”. The disc’s two overt love songs, Rotten Life”, a diatribe aimed at a blue-haired Goth girl, and ‘California”, a breezy Eagles-like driven song, ooze with vitriolic charm. A fine record for jilted lovers and intellectual drinkers - Tom Semiole – Amplifier Magazine, Issue #29, March 2002

sean koepenick – ear candy mag

for what it’s worse – new album from the long standing philly rockers. full of sonic blasts and bittersweet songwriting, this will sound fantastic cranked out over the speakers. it starts off with a bang here with “good intentions” and doesn’t let up until the last note fades off into the ether. ‘me and sweet j” and “starting now” are some of my other favorites here. taggart has been cranking out great indie rock for awhile now, and the end result is this new release, which is rock solid and worth picking up. – 4 out of 5 stars (ear candy mag) - Ear Candy