TaxiWars - Fever (2016) Lossless

Rock’s love of jazz was driven underground by prog rock’s overenthusiasm: keyboard flourishes with more notes than a bank vault; drum solos that went on for days. But in a counter-reaction to the antiseptic digital age, it is no longer the love that dare not speak its name.

Fever finds Tom Barman, frontman with veteran Belgian indie band Deus, unleashing his inner jazzbo with new project TaxiWars.

Tracks have the structure and vocal style of the typical rock song, albeit the opaque variety favoured by Deus. But they are propelled by a jazz engine.

Drummer Antoine Pierre’s time-keeping is subtle and multi-layered, while Robin Verheyen does agile work on the saxophone, from the cool solos blowing through “En Route” to his jittery interplay with bassist Nicolas Thys in “Soliloque (Sans Issu)”.