THE ALBUM OF THE DAY IS… TAPROOT, BLUE SKY RESEARCH
I know I’m going to get a ton of shit for this one, but I don’t care; haters, bring it on. Blue Sky Research is an excellent album, the band’s third full-length, released in 2005. Truth is I probably wouldn’t give two shits about this band if I hadn’t spent 4 years living in their hometown of Ann Arbor, MI, but the fact of the matter is that they write some damn good songs. This time around they had help, and the difference is noticeable as there are less in the way of B-rate Deftones immitations and more in the way of well-crafted alt-metal rockers. None other than Billy Corgan co-wrote “Violent Seas,” “Promise” and “Lost in the Woods,” while Jonah Matranga of Far, Onelindrawing, and Gratitude helped out on the infectious lead-single “Calling.” Taproot still get heavy when they want to as on “Facepeeler” and “I Will Not Fall For You,” but the real gems are the mid-tempo pieces co-written by sometimes producer, sometimes writer veteran Bob Marlette. “Birthday” is surely one of the standout tracks, and “Forever Endeavor” is a fine effort as well. Another standout track is the rousing “April Suits” which the four band members wrote all on their own. As with any Toby Wright-produced project, there are plenty of awesome three and four part vocal harmonies throughout this album; fans of Alice in Chains will appreciate all the layers here.
It’d be a stretch to call this a metal album, but fans of good, modern hard rock songs will appreciate the nuance and depth of Blue Sky Research.
-VN
[Buy Blue-Sky Research
[Visit Taproot on MySpace]
