Review Summary: Our Long Road Home is another solid effort from Taproot.
Taproot has to be one of the most overlooked bands on Sputnik. Sure, their earlier stuff was terrible and was without a doubt nu metal, but their latest album
Our Long Road Home shows quite a bit of promise and progression from the guys from Ann Arbor. While it may not be the best example of modern rock,
Our Long Road Home further shows that Taproot aren't afraid to stray away from the boundaries of their genre.
The first song,
Path Less Taken, is probably the second heaviest song on the album and will be appreciated by both old and new fans of Taproot. It starts out with great mellow vocals followed by Stephen Richardson's screaming and the chorus.
Wherever I Stand, the first single from the album, struck me as an average radio single and nothing more the first time I heard it. This one technically isn't the "best" song on the album but is definetely a grower. After a few listens or more you begin to appreciate it for what it is.
Track three,
Be the 1 is generally a good song but, for me at least, a letdown after two strong songs in a row. The mellow side of Taproot once again shows on this song, a side of the band that has become all the more familiar since Blue Sky Research. Its chorus is really just average and is nothing that deserves any praise.
After a strong start and a great verse,
Hand That Holds True's chorus comes along and sweeps you off your feet. The chorus is the worst part, but the rest is good enough to make this the best song on the album since track one. Yet another song that would do well on the radio, but probably won't.
Listen to the first twenty-five seconds or so of
Take It. Tell me the first band that comes to mind when you hear it.
Rage Against the Machine? I thought so. Don't get me wrong, I do respect RATM and I do enjoy this song, but it seems somewhat out of place after the trend Taproot sets with the first four songs. Yes, it's quite nice to see the group doing something different again, and they do it well, but they could have done it much better.
Track six has a very creepy start, then soon goes into another forgettable post-grunge chorus. In other words,
It's Natural is a minor variation of
Hand That Holds True. Despite this, it manages to be just plain good and the female vocals on the song fit it perfectly.
As One makes almost the same mistakes as the songs before it, but everything before the chorus and including some of the chorus is gold.
You're Not Home Tonight is a fantastic song, but ultimately forgettable. Once again, the band makes all the right steps first and all the wrong steps second. Personally, I have always enjoyed this song, but I can see the criticism it brought and I too don't think the band should've introduced the fans to OLRH with this song. #9 on the disc,
Stethoscope, is merely filler and where the band stops to catch their breath on the record. I could see this song used in many ways, but I would never just listen to this song standing alone.
Run To,
Karmaway and
Footprints are the softest songs on Our Long Road Home and are coincedentally also the best songs on it.
Run To, in particular, is amazing and would be a great way to introduce anyone to Taproot.
Final Rating:
3.5/5
Recommended Tracks:
Path Less Taken
Hand That Holds True
Run To
