Taproot

Finally Taproot make good on the promise hinted at on their first two albums: Blue Sky is heavy-hitting rock for a new age; intense music that captures the moodiness and uncertainty of the modern day. The band unleashes solid drama brought to life with aggressive guitars and thoughtful yet morose melodies.

On its third album, this blustery, prog-minded Michigan quartet mitigates its tortured
new-metal bashing with straightforward modern-rock choruses and plush electro touches.
But overwrought downers such as "Violent Seas" and "Facepeeler" still fall victim to
angry-young-man syndrome: The songs are dragged down by melodrama and the kind of
adenoidal choruses that Incubus do much better.