Moon Taxi will play at the Lyric Thursday night. COURTESY RIDETHEMOONTAXI.COM
Moon Taxi’s ascent into the limelight can be seen from miles away, but they don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. The Nashville alt-rock band has grown in popularity ever since the release of their first album, Melodica, in 2007.
The guys, no stranger to Oxford’s ways, will return for a performance at 8 p.m. tonight at The Lyric.
Their latest album, Mountains Beaches Cities, came out in 2013 and made waves with the popularity of the wanderlust-themed track “Morocco.” The song has become a hit that seems to complement the feeling of adventure perfectly.
The band is made up of five members: guitarists Trevor Turndrup and Spencer Thompson, bassist Tommy Putnam, keyboardist Wes Bailey and drummer Tyler Ritter.
The album is instilled with the energy present in their past albums, but Mountains Beaches Cities also shows growth musically. The sound and musical aesthetic the group possessed within the first two albums has expanded with Mountains Beaches Cities.
Mountains Beaches Cities was the result of many experiences while traveling. Moon Taxi’s Thompson, assisted by keys player Bailey, produced the album, which was largely inspired by the idea of exploration and adventure.
“We take in a lot of what we hear on the road; what someone might be playing in the bus or even what we hear other bands we’re touring with doing on stage. We’re soaking in different rhythms and lyrical ideas while we tour,” Bailey said. “The result on Mountains Beaches Cities was a culmination of those traveled experiences which permeate through the songs.”
In fact, the name of the album was inspired by a realization during a show at The Orange Peel in Asheville, North Carolina. After finalizing the sequence of songs on the album before the show, the band could not decide on a title.
“After a solid set at the Peel,” Bailey said, “we were on the way out of the venue when we were thinking of all the attributes of North Carolina. It’s got great Mountains, Beaches and Cities. Inspiration can come from many places, we just try to stay aware of our surroundings, and it’s easy to see.”
Moon Taxi also references festivals as an abundant source for more diverse listeners. Bailey said large festivals, like Bonnaroo, spread new music to listeners on a worldwide platform. Hearing various bands and sounds at other huge festivals like SXSW in Austin, Texas, also gives members of Moon Taxi new ideas and approaches to making music.
“We felt the ‘Bonnaroo bump’ after our set in 2012,” he said. “And fans still say that was the set that got them hooked.”
Bailey said the band members all have a range of musical influences that inspire their unique sound. Bailey said his personal inspiration is Billy Joel, whose album “The Stranger” gave him the initial interest to start playing music in bands.
This spring Moon Taxi is recording what Bailey said, “Will undoubtedly be our best release yet.”
The band initially was to be joined tonight by another Nashville up-and-comer, The Lonely Biscuits. They announced yesterday on their Twitter that they would no longer be able to play the show due to “uncontrollable circumstances.”
