On Jan. 22, Moon Taxi released a new album titled “Silver Dream.” With a two-year span between the last album and their latest, it was about time for some new music from such an upbeat band during these trying times. The tracks “Morocco” and “Red Hot Lights” were both so iconic during their time, one would be hopeful the new album would live up to such quality.
Though the band has released some real bangers in the past, this album was extremely bland and disappointing. The album starts off with the track “Palm of Your Hand.” The beginning is the strongest part of the track, and that is not saying a great deal. The beat is cute and uptempo, but the lyrics are repetitive and borderline annoying. This track is already giving a watered-down OneRepublic vibe.
The album continues with the track “Hometown Heros,” and the quality does not get any better. If any track can be compared to a saltine cracker, it is this one. It is a weird combination of the traditional Moon Taxi vocals along with some trying-too-hard pop components as well as elements of EDM in the mix. However, referring to it as a “mix” does not mean it is a homogeneous mix.
Just when one might think there is no way this album can get any worse, “Keep it Together” comes on and the last thing anyone would want to do is keep it together during these three minutes in hell. The entire vibe of this track can be compared to riding the “Small World” ride at Disney World. Though there is a constant, overly positive vibe repeated an annoying amount, it’s really just leading the listener into a spiral of insanity.
Despite the previous tracks being subpar at best, the track “Say” is honestly just embarrassing. It can best be described as a Walmart version of “Best Day Of My Life” by American Authors. The entire style of overly positive boy band from 2012 is heavily exemplified throughout the entire album, specifically in this track. Hopefully this track was made for an overly positive children’s movie and not intended for the general public. Whether this was meant to spread positivity or insanity, it’s definitely doing a great job of spreading the latter.
Overall, this album can be compared to a plethora of previous creations in music, none of which are positive comparisons. Every track is a pretty even combination of Maroon 5, OneRepublic, Train and a hint of Kidz Bop. The melody and beat to most of the tracks are actually pretty solid, except every single track is ruined by the lyrics as well as weak and generic vocals. This album has zero flavor or creativity. It may have been popular eight or nine years ago, but there is no way this album gains any popularity in today’s society. Anyone reading this: Please do not waste time giving this album a chance. It is purely atrocious.