The Taxpayers are a three-piece punk outfit from Portland, OR. A Rhythm in the Cages is their second full-length, with twelve songs that run the gamut of punk styles.
Opener "Never Getting Warm" brings to mind the recent influx of groups like Against Me! and Defiance, Ohio. Meanwhile "White Walls" is a ruckus-raising punk cut akin to early Anti-Flag. Then you get the folk/countrified styles of the somber "Needle's Eye" and storytelling variety of "Cuyahoga Canal." "Militaristic Kitchen" reminds me of the ska-punk of the East Bay and "Bike Cops" is an acoustic driven ballad recalling life of a DIY punk. Lyrically, the band tackles topics concerning the economy, various social issues (their liberal hometown should have clued you into this), and being a touring DIY band
the usual.
I'm not a huge fan of this genre of music; there are only a few groups I really like (Fake Problems is one of them). This is fairly run of the mill for me, but if you're into this type of stuff you will probably enjoy it a lot more than I do.
P.S. The band loses points for hating on my hometown in "Montana." You must have run into the wrong people in Cleveland to form such an opinion. If you need help finding the DIY scene next time, I can assist you fine lads.
