Most people who have heard of Taproot in this country will remember early hit 'Poem', that looped around various rock music TV channels with a huge rotation. But then again, everyone loved heavy rock and metal in 2002, and since then bands like Taproot have been quietly existing, releasing albums and going on tour to little or no fanfare. Will 'The Episodes' bring them back to the front or do they just go through the motions?
Taproot reach into a very deep bag of tricks with opening song 'Good Morning', pulling in every multi-layered voice, computer-generated bleep and noise, sample and usual dose of heavy guitars, skin-bursting drums and all-hope-is-lost vocals. Needless to say that some of those tricks work better than others as despite the deliberately difficult nature of this opening track clearly being the whole point of it, the use of 'Microsoft Sam' or whatever equivalent that computerised vocal is takes away the captive yet unsettling feeling surrounding this tricky opener, and threatens to put it into joke territory. I wouldn't have minded so much if it wasn't for the fact that voice has been used in more than one track on the album and it's difficult to take seriously. It's a crying shame because nearly everything else is excellent.
Musically, you think you know what you're going to get with albums like these, but with this one, while you get the ingredients, you get a few surprise spices mixed in too and they are pretty much all welcomed. The guitars are filled to the brim with dirty distortion and are there mostly to add atmosphere, turning the slower songs into tense drones designed to clutch at the heartstrings of any self-respecting hard rock fan. The faster tracks just sound raw and frantic. The vocals from front man Stephen Richards resemble the choir of the dying. His vocal range is, and always has been, the true shining point of this band as he weaves his way carefully through each line without ever losing any emotion. He can mournfully croon his way through the delicate, while suddenly being able to scream seconds later when called upon to do so, and never does it sound out of place. The drums bore holes through your skin whether the song is written in a way to rip you apart or poke holes in you bit by bit. All in all, musically, the album does exactly what it's supposed to by ticking every box, but in some cases, as with the opener, there's a level of connection between song and listener missing. A lot of what's on offer here is very clever, and, in a few cases, a bit too clever and it detaches the guy with the headphones from what they're actually listening to.
Take 'Lost Boy', part Waltz designed to be played in the darkest, dankest concert halls; part disjointed industrial accident. The bits in ¾ time work well, and the rest of it works too (except Microsoft Sam who, at this point, becomes too annoying to ignore), but they just don't work with each other, and it's difficult to listen to as a whole. On the flip side of that is album highlight 'The Everlasting', the first song not to feature Microsoft Sam, and the first song to keep the message clear and simple throughout and let the actual song do the talking. Deep and dynamic, it's as good as anything this band have ever put out.
As the album progresses we get to 'A Kiss from the Sky', a true barnstorming stompfest of pure lament. Despite never losing its true pace, it goes from headbanger to circlepit starter via lighters out with minimal effort and never once does it lose its focus. This is where this album shines. It can mix the subtle and simple with the complex and intricate.
By the time you get to album closer 'We Don't Belong Here', a song which sounds every bit like the final song on an album should, you fully understand what it is this band have created. Filled with ideas and forever expandable, 'The Episodes' should, on the whole, be applauded for its direction and the pure quality of the songs. If someone could just kill off Microsoft Sam, then that would make it even better.
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Taproot reach into a very deep bag of tricks with opening song 'Good Morning', pulling in every multi-layered voice, computer-generated bleep and noise, sample and usual dose of heavy guitars, skin-bursting drums and all-hope-is-lost vocals. Needless to say that some of those tricks work better than others as despite the deliberately difficult nature of this opening track clearly being the whole point of it, the use of 'Microsoft Sam' or whatever equivalent that computerised vocal is takes away the captive yet unsettling feeling surrounding this tricky opener, and threatens to put it into joke territory. I wouldn't have minded so much if it wasn't for the fact that voice has been used in more than one track on the album and it's difficult to take seriously. It's a crying shame because nearly everything else is excellent.
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