Toronto trio Tijuana Taxi have been steadily cementing their place within Canada’s noise rock and shoegaze vanguard, and with their new album, Mirages, on the horizon, the band unleash their most volatile statement yet. Early singles Dru and Muck hinted at the group’s ability to merge abrasion with atmosphere. Wander/Mirages arrives as the final preview before the full length, and it strikes as their most explosive offering thus far.
A longtime staple of their live sets, Wander/Mirages unfolds feverishly in three acts. The track drifts in as a slow and dust-choked Americana number, before it dissolves into a dense, collapsing mass of noise. From that wreckage, Tijuana Taxi surge forward with their most feral punk passage to date, a sudden ignition that feels natural, visceral and unrestrained. In its closing moments, the track rises into a massive wall of distortion; chaotic and euphoric.
ZR