Taproot Albums (4)
'Our Long Road Home'
Release Date 9/16/2008
Tracks 12
Label Velvet Hammer
See Album Tracklist and Review
'Blue-Sky Research'
Release Date 1/1/2005
Tracks 13
Label Velvet Hammer/Atlantic
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Taproot branch out on Blue-Sky Research, collaborating with some notable outside songwriters and tweaking the nu-metal bludgeon of their first two records for a more melodic sound. There are still gloomy hard hitters here. "Facepeeler" and "Nightmare" feature unwieldy roaring and bleak sheets of distortion that frame atmospheric stretches, making the quartet sound like ambitious but samey Deftones followers. But then there's "Violent Seas," a glimmeringly insistent modern rocker co-written with Billy Corgan. It still broods, and breaks into anxious choruses. But it's also many times more accessible than any of Taproot's previous work. Corgan also co-writes "Promise" and the rousing "Lost in the Woods," while Jonah Matranga of Far, Onelindrawing, and Gratitude helps out on "Calling." The assistance is a plus for Taproot. The songs still deal with bitter stuff like loneliness, obsession, and hearts being ripped from inside chests, and all the bellowing, brooding, and thick chording gets a little formulaic. But even without the hired guns Blue-Sky Research is the most dynamic Taproot album yet (the self-penned "So Eager" proves that), and the album's heightened textures and less predictable turns successfully updates the band's sound. By easing up on the plodding drudgery and letting Stephen Richards sing in a voice that sounds more like his own, Taproot start to suggest moody but readily accessible post-grunge acts like Breaking Benjamin or Three Days Grace instead of the tired nu-metal past. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
'Welcome'
Release Date 10/15/2002
Tracks 12
Label Velvet Hammer/Atlantic
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Taproot's sophomore disc replaces the Korn worship of the band's debut with a much more melodic replication of post-grunge Alice in Chains idolatry down to the muted minor-key harmonized choruses that appear on every song (and practically with every verse, for that matter). Vocalist Stephen Richards does shriek a bit more than Layne Staley ever did, and Welcome offers some ideas that would have been out of place in 1993 Seattle, but they're not much different than what could be found on 2003 rock radio -- a bit of Tool melodrama here, a dash of Staind's acoustic-flavored melodrama there. The fact that the group tried to do something different for them is notable but severely mitigated by the fact that they didn't do much different for anyone else. Even though a few tracks, such as lead cut "Mine," will evoke a Pavlovian reaction due to the familiarity involved, that's not nearly enough to save Welcome from being average and nothing more. ~ Brian O'Neill, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
In a time when Michigan exploded as a hotbed of electronica and white-boy hip-hop innovation, Ann Arbor's Taproot emerged to restore Michigan to the riff-laden, rock & roll glory of the Ted Nugent '70s. Having build a heavy underground following through its live performances, early self-released albums, and website, Taproot stepped into the national spotlight with a debut bound to please 16 and 17 year olds everywhere. It's all here: heavy riffs, distorted rapping vocals, "life sucks" lyrics, and angry growling. These guys seem serious about their music, which is refreshing. There are no gimmicks like clown masks or fake b-boy posing. This guys are just about hard rock & roll, and they excel as musicians. ~ Brian Musich, All Music Guide
