WHEELS 2.0 HAILS A TAXI

We’re in a New York state of mind this week, and we feature two favorites from last month’s CMJ Music Marathon. We’re keeping you full for the Thanksgiving hiatus, cause let’s be real, after the tryptophan sets in, we’ll be sleeping through the weekend. We’ll be back with big picks in December. Stay tuned and keep us fed at [email protected].

ONE TO WATCH
Black Taxi (www.myspace.com/blacktaximusic; @blacktaxi): A signature sound bellows from the face of this record as soon as you fall into the first track. A four-piece made up of sheep farmers, Mennonites, rail workers and Olympians, Black Taxi channels its members’ disparate backgrounds into a sound that oozes sexy rock & roll. Their music draws on your sensibilities like the feeling you get when parading through the streets of New York, the band’s hometown. A featured band at this year’s CMJ, Black Taxi found their footing in 2007 and have been recognized for a wide range of musical influences and a kick-ass live show. You’ll find their sound an amalgamation of Cake, Daft Punk and The Clash, but with a hunger for newness, all of it vividly represented on their first full-length release, Things of That Nature. They’re touting TV placements, early love at radio and stage rights at some of the best clubs across the country. We’re hot on their tail and expect a bright future for them.

ON DECK
Overnight (www.myspace.com/overnight) is a quartet based in the Big Apple whose musical history is rich in diversity, as the members have played with everyone from Lauryn Hill and Nas to Spacehog and Rye Coalition. As multi-instrumentalists, their sound is big, complex and eclectic, pushing at the boundaries of rock to take a path less traveled. Their entirely self-produced debut album, These Days Are Over, was a year in the making, and they focus their various backgrounds to create a rich, purposeful sound.

BUZZIN’
Dive (www.myspace.com/dive): These Philly rockers have signed to Phase One Communications (distributed by Sony/RED), and will be recording their new album with multi-platinum producer Jim Wirt (Incubus, Live, Hoobastank).