Taxi Girls are tearing the walls down with new single ‘Secret Handshake’

TAXI GIRLS are not here to play nice. The Montreal-based all-female garage punk outfit have dropped Secret Handshake, their new single and video out now on Stomp Records — and it hits like a shot of whiskey at a house show you weren’t supposed to be at. Following the punch of their debut single Say It, this one doubles down on everything that made people pay attention: blown-out guitars, a ripping solo, and dual vocals from Jamie Radu and Vera that push against each other with just the right amount of friction.

Formed in 2022, the band has spent the last few years doing it the right way — packed basements, word of mouth, and a sound that feels like Montreal itself: somewhere between a late-night dépanneur run and the spill of bodies onto Saint-Laurent after last call. You can hear the city in it. You can also hear the VHS hangs — Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains on repeat, The Runaways cranked up, Girlschool and Nena’s The Stripes in the mix — all of it run back louder and faster.

Secret Handshake rides the line between garage punk, power pop, and straight-up rock ‘n’ roll. The rhythm section keeps everything right on the edge while the guitars stay gloriously blown out, and the track’s tension-and-release structure gives it a constant forward drive that doesn’t let up for its entire 2:42 runtime. Lyrically, it digs into unspoken expectations, fractured communication, and the quiet roles people slip into just to keep things from falling apart — vulnerable and defiant at the same time, rough around the edges and fully self-aware.

The momentum has been real. Over the past year, TAXI GIRLS have shared stages with NOBRO, NOFX, Lagwagon, The Hives, Billy Talent, and Pansy Division. Iggy Pop spun them on his BBC 6 Music show, which pretty much says everything you need to know about where this band is headed.

Secret Handshake arrives ahead of their debut LP ‘Static’, dropping June 26. If the first single kicked the door open, this one tears the walls down.

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