ALEX V. CIPOLLE

Genre-Benders The Taxpayers Share Two New Singles “Circle Protector” and “Evil Everywhere”

New album out March 21st

In anticipation of their new album, The Taxpayers have released two new singles, “Circle Protector” and “Evil Everywhere” along with accompanying music videos. After a multi-year hiatus, long-running experimental punk band are back and ready to make their mark once again.

“Think of how much the world has changed since we released our last album,” says Rob Taxpayer, the band’s lead vocalist and principal songwriter. “It seemed appropriate to do something completely different.”

The album’s lead single “Circle Protector,” draws on deeply personal experiences, including a tragic event that profoundly impacted Rob Taxpayer. Reflecting on the moment, Rob shares:

“The day before ‘Circle Protector’ was written, I ran into my friends Katie and Will, who were loading an amp into the back of a car about a block from my house. They were heading to a house show in the next neighborhood over. ‘You should come,’ they said. But me and Elise had free tickets to see the stage adaptation of Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill and babysitters for our six-month-old (our first date night in months). So we hopped back on our bikes and told them to have fun. ‘Maybe we’ll stop by after the musical.’

“I found out the next day that there had been a shooting at that house show. Some random guys had wandered in thinking it was a house party, tried to hit on a few people who weren’t interested, and opened fire on their way out. An old friend had been killed, a victim of a stray bullet.

“I learned about this as I held my sleeping baby in my arms, grappling with the fact that my friend had been murdered a handful of blocks from where my baby slept. That night, I lit a bundle of old dried lemongrass and walked a protective circle around my home.”

The track “Evil Everywhere” is another deeply personal reflection on the state of the world today. Rob continues:

“With all the compounding murders and suicides and just general death that the band had been experiencing leading up to this album, I often find myself thinking about the word ‘evil’ and what it means. Is it an action, a choice, some unconquerable element of existence, a seed, just another thing that happens? Do we learn from the past or intentionally drown it out in order to just fucking get by? What direction leads away from it? What prevails in its face? The songs on this album ended up being, in some sense, an attempt to grapple with those questions.”

What do you think of The Taxpayers’ new singles “Circle Protector” and “Evil Everywhere”?

Damaged City Festival 2019 | Photos | LIVING LIFE FEARLESS

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Damaged City Festival 2019 | Photos | LIVING LIFE FEARLESS
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