Some bands arrive with a bang, and Taxiride did exactly that. In 1999 the Melbourne group’s debut album, Imaginate, hit number one in Australia, and its opening track, “Can You Feel”, went on to become their third top 40 single. It’s bright, breezy and built on gorgeous harmonies, but the title is a question, and questions are always worth chewing on. What exactly are we being asked to feel? Plus, it’s one of those songs that instantly takes you back to the turn of the millennium. Let’s take a closer look at the story behind “Can You Feel”, what the song might be saying, and why it still sounds so good more than twenty years later.
The Band Behind the Song
Taxiride formed in Melbourne in 1997, built around singer-songwriters Tim Watson and Tim Wild, with Jason Singh and Dan Hall in the early line-up. Before that, the members had spent years playing in cover bands around town. As the story goes, their big break came when a taxi-driving friend helped spread their demo EP, and that led to a contract with Warner Music. By 1998 they’d packed up and moved to Los Angeles to make their first album.
That’s a pretty classic Aussie band yarn. A few mates, a demo, a bit of luck, and suddenly you’re recording in one of the most famous studios in the world with a big-name producer. You can hear all that excitement in the music.
Written by Tim Wild
“Can You Feel” was written by Wild, who also wrote the band’s first single, “Get Set”, which won the 1999 ARIA Award for Breakthrough Artist – Single. The new song was recorded with producer Jack Joseph Puig, with Peter Dacy also credited as producer, and it was released as the third single from the album in early 2000. It climbed to number 35 on the ARIA singles chart.
The maxi-single came with extras too, including the B-sides “The Burden” and “Sydney”, plus remixes from the Leigh Brothers and Dan Chase. That tells you the band and their label saw it as a proper moment, something worth dressing up for the clubs as well as the radio.
Sound as Storytelling
Here’s where the song gets really interesting. According to one retrospective on the album, it kicks off with a synthesised didgeridoo before racing into a quick-tempo, acoustic-guitar-driven ride. Then, right in the middle, comes the showstopper: a breathtaking four-part a cappella break where the instruments fall away and only voices remain.
I reckon that structure says a lot. The didgeridoo is a little nod to home, a band recording in Los Angeles but quietly reminding everyone where they come from. The a cappella section is the emotional centre. When you strip everything back to voices alone, the question in the title stops being a lyric and becomes an experience. You don’t just hear the song asking whether you can feel something. You feel it in the harmonies.
What Is the Song Asking?
Unlike some songs on this list, “Can You Feel” doesn’t come with a well-documented origin story, so let’s read it through what we do know. The title is a direct question, and it’s addressed to someone. That could be a partner, a friend, or the listener standing in the crowd. It’s an invitation to connect, to stop and notice a shared moment rather than rushing past it.
Read that way, it’s a love song in the widest sense. It’s less about a single relationship and more about the hope that someone else is on the same wavelength as you. That’s why it works so well as an album opener. Before you’ve heard another track, the band has asked you to lean in and pay attention. It’s friendly, open-hearted and just a little bit cheeky.
Debut Album Energy
Imaginate was released in October 1999 and reached number one on the ARIA albums chart, with four singles in total. “Can You Feel” sits alongside “Get Set”, “Everywhere You Go” and “Nothing in This World”, and together they showed a band that could write hooks and harmonise like old pros.
Overseas, things were trickier. The album landed in the middle of the boy band era, and one American music-industry veteran later suggested the marketing never made it clear that this was a proper power-pop record. In other words, Taxiride were real musicians with real songs who got lost between trends. That’s a shame, because the tunes hold up beautifully.
Why It Still Works
Part of the charm is how unforced it all feels. There’s no heavy message to decode and no moody posturing. Just a great melody, a feel-good push of guitars and a group of voices blending as if they’ve been singing together since school. That sort of simplicity is harder to pull off than it sounds.
It also captures a very specific moment. Around the turn of the millennium, plenty of Aussie rock had a sunny, optimistic streak, and Taxiride bottled it perfectly. Put “Can You Feel” on today and it still sounds like a drive with the windows down. Sometimes a song doesn’t need a deeper secret. Sometimes the meaning is simply the feeling, and it’s right there on the surface.
Harmony as a Trademark
If there’s one thing Taxiride were known for, it was their vocal blend. With several strong singers and songwriters in the band, they could layer voices in a way that sounded effortless. “Can You Feel” puts that skill front and centre, especially in that mid-song a cappella moment. It’s the kind of thing that sounds easy until you try it in the shower and realise how tricky the timing is.
That blend also gives the song its communal feel. Instead of a lone voice asking a lonely question, you get a group of friends asking it together. The result is warm and welcoming, and it makes the question feel less like a challenge and more like a shared invitation. You don’t need to be an expert singer to join in, and that’s a big part of the appeal.
A Little Listening Guide
Want to hear “Can You Feel” with fresh ears? Here’s my tip. Start by noticing the opening, where that synthesised didgeridoo sets a playful, slightly exotic scene. Then follow the acoustic guitar, which keeps everything moving along at a brisk pace without ever sounding frantic. When the four-part break arrives, close your eyes and try to pick out each voice. Finally, pay attention to how the song comes back in afterwards, because the return feels like a lift of energy after a deep breath.
It’s a tiny lesson in song structure, really. Open with a hook, build momentum, hit a showstopping moment and then bring it all home. Taxiride pull it off in just over three minutes.
Final Thoughts
“Can You Feel” might not have the biggest chart peak in Taxiride’s story, but it carries so much of what made the band special. There’s the cheeky didgeridoo opening, the sparkling guitars and that spine-tingling four-part break that shows off how well these guys could sing together. At its heart it’s a simple question that invites you to connect with the moment. It’s also a reminder that great pop doesn’t need a complicated backstory to leave a mark. All it takes is a melody you can’t shake and voices that sound like they mean it. So give it another spin, crank it up, and ask yourself the same thing the song asks you. Can you feel it? I reckon you can.