parts of my bicycle are made of chrome – taggart’s swaggering debut is a melodic mixture of emo, garage, punk, and alternative that’s just one hit song away from a commercial breakthrough. poignant, rowdy, melancholy, and reckless, this philadelphia quartet weaves strong pop hooks into thick guitar-driven arrangements and peppers them with occasional keyboard motifs and vocal harmonies that skim the surface of the beach boys and beatles. though each member sings from the bottom of a shot glass, the band is able to morph into a myriad of contrasting styles with relative ease as evidenced by the americana twist of “chelsea” and “final chapter” and the artsy intro to “empty introduction”. the disc’s two overt love songs, “rotten life”, a diatribe aimed at a blue-haired goth girl, and ‘california”, a breezy eagles-like driven song, ooze with vitriolic charm. a fine record for jilted lovers and intellectual drinkers. (amplifier)