By Nicolas Henderson
Staff Writer
@happenstance98
Quiet Company frontman Taylor Muse has come a long way in nine years.
After releasing his first album Shine Honesty under the Quiet Company moniker in 2006, Muse got a band together to perform the songs and make future recordings in 2007. Between 2007 and 2014, Muse and Co. began to get people’s attention, releasing two albums, and opening for respected Texas artists such as The Toadies.
On Feb. 24, Quiet Company released Transgressor, its first album since 2011’s We Are All Where We Belong, the album that shot the band to national fame. Transgressor, recorded throughout 2014, features 11 songs.
Muse stated that Transgressor would have more of a raw feel compared to previous albums, and the thrashing opener “Seven Hells” accurately fits his
description. The second track and my personal favorite, “The Most Dangerous Game” continues the high energy with its floor-stomping verse and catchy chorus, this track is already a Quiet Company classic.
Songs three through five continue the high energy of the first half of the album, reaching a climax with the irresistibly catchy “Understand The Problem”, the albums first single. “Understand The Problem” is a great example of how Transgressor is Quiet Company’s most mature and well executed album. By now it has developed a sound that is unique to them, but unlike many bands that sell out at this level, they have remained loyal to their influences and the sound that they have already created, and that songwriting strength shows.
The intensity of the first half is interrupted by the pretty love song “Kindness”, before being driven back into high gear with the synth-heavy “I Heard The Devil Say My Name”. The album’s second half finishes with the same consistency as the first half, with standout tracks being “ A Year In Decline”, and the climatic and fitting closer “Midnight at The Dairy Palace”, the latter a track worth checking out for the name alone.
While I was a bit nervous that this album would be more generic than Quiet Company’s previous work, I was dead wrong. Transgressor is easily its best album to date, and an album that fans of all types of music would enjoy. It’s refreshing to see a rock band from Texas aiding rock music in the right direction in 2015.
