This New Papa Roach Song is Pretty Terrible

I feel like I write this headline once every couple of years, but here we are again: Papa Roach have a new song, “Elevate,” and it’s pretty bad.

“Elevate” sounds like a mix between old Papa Roach — there is RAPPING, lots of it — and modern, electronic-backed rock production, i.e. Twenty One Pilots, Grandson, etc. When rock bands go this route I’m always forced to wonder who actually did the writing. Nick “RAS” Furlong and Colin Cunningham are credited as producers on the band’s new album, but in the radio rock world the line between “producer” and “writer” is often blurred. Did those two write this track with some token lyrical and guitar lick contributions from the band, did they produce it in the usual meaning of that word in the rock world (crafted the tones, with some occasional songwriting tweak suggestions) or was it somewhere in between, a collaboration? I would genuinely like to know.

Check out “Elevate” at your own peril below.