Review Summary: An album with a good message but a couple of flaws
It’s safe to say that everyone can feel very down from time to time, and that we all can get pretty harsh on ourselves. Taproot’s 2002 major label sophomore release,
Welcome, essentially revolves around this feeling of self deprecation. Themes of obsession, depression, self deprecation and anxiety are not foreign to this album, however what keeps the entire thing from being a self pitying mess is the underlying concept of hope.
The opening track, “Mine”, actually showcases the band’s firm musicianship. During the verse, the bass is creamy and, essentially, acts as the thread for the rest of the band to work off of. The drumming is snappy, while the guitars echo, adding a somewhat pretty aura to the track. The vocals, performed in a somewhat whispered tone, suit this atmosphere very well. Then, we get to the chorus: a noisy, repetitive, and destructive break placed in between the otherwise relaxing verses. The track, while being a standout from the album, describes the entire album as a whole: Some pretty parts, a lot of ugly parts.
As I talked about earlier, optimism is the main idea the album aims for, although it might not appear that way for the most part. Tracks such as “Art” and “Like” are rather upbeat and, dare I say it,
uplifting, “Art” in particular is a beautiful number that includes a lovely, (albeit a bit cliche), string arrangement that makes me in particular feel great. On the flip side of the coin, songs such as “Myself” and “Poem” are much uglier and bleak, the latter, being one of the band’s most well known songs, is a quick, concise number that talks about anxiety, and it also brings out perhaps the catchiest chorus on the entire record. As you can tell, this album has a mix of tracks, but they bring out the album’s biggest issue: It does not flow well. The pacing on this disc is very odd and disjointed, for every two or three “sad” tracks, there’s a “happy” track that’s jammed in between that, in the end, ruins the flow and tone a bit, making it an awkward listen. There’s a bleak opening track and an optimistic closer, everything in between is essentially a grab bag.
Another note I would like to include is the fact that the very middle of the album drags a bit. Songs like “Sumtimes” and “When” leave very, very little of an impression, instead acting like cold, old duds that have no effect, musically. The guitars repeat uninteresting riffs while the bass follows along, doing practically nothing to grab anyone’s attention. They’re filler tracks, in other words.
With
Welcome, Taproot attempted to explore alternative rock territories while also including a message with their music. While the entire thing feels uneven, it’s rather hard to not enjoy the record for what it is. When it shines, it shines bright, showcasing a musically tight band with a lot of ideas. When it’s dim, it’s just plain boring.
