‘Who Do You Trust’ is the iconic Californian rockers 10th album and brings the band firmly into the present with new vibes erring in the lighter side with pop-rock tracks sitting nicely alongside their more traditional sound. Released on 18th January, it’s definitely different from the other 9 offerings and despite several listens I still can’t make up my mind what I really feel about it.
‘The Ending’ is a rap-rock anthem. Big sounding with Jacoby Shaddix sounding as good as ever . ‘Renegade Music’ follows in a very similar vein. Huge sounding and full of layers of sound, expertly played by superb musicians, cleverly arranged and a delight on the ears. ‘Not The Only One’ is such a variety of styles in one song, from a pop edged big chorus, flooding into a grime ridden buzzy riffs and rap.
The title track “Who Do You Trust’ is everything that Papa Roach does best. Stadium filling Rock, They’ve hit the right spot for me with this one. But then another change of vibe with ‘Elevate ‘. Light, uplifting gang chant leading into the rap vocal and layers of synth, guitars and drums. Bordering on pop-rock with melodic vocals and a clarity to the lyrics. However, t’s a sure-fire winner in the sing along stakes. I couldn’t get it out of my head.
‘Come Around’ grows and grows to another fab vocal. You have to give it to these guys, they do sound fabulous. It is another strong track as is ‘Feels Like Home’ which has energy and some nice fuzzy riffs and yet another great chorus, big, loud and memorable. ‘Problems’ is a nice track, I’m waiting for the big punch that doesn’t really come despite the potential, it does grow but it just misses the mark. ‘Top Of The World’ I like, heavy with rap but the melody is big, riffs are buzzy and grimy and it is an enjoyable track.
‘I Suffer Well’ is a full-on punk track and is just fabulous, this album is so varied and this is a nice change from the very pop feeling of many of the tracks and it is so short at under 2 minutes that it punctuates the album like a big right hook. ‘Maniac’ has synths, buzzy riffs, feedback and a strong lyric. Which leads in nicely to the final track, ‘Better Than Life’ which brings this very diverse album to a close with more electro rock overtones.
I can’t make up my mind if the diversity in this album is a good thing or not. The majority of the tracks are all so short at just over the 3 minute mark you can’t quite get your teeth into some of them. Papa Roach have always set challenges for themselves and have been at the forefront of creativity for over 25 years so reinventing their sound again is no surprise, I’m just not sure how it will sit with older Roach fans but they will gain some new ones with this album I’m certain.
Papa Roach are:
Jacoby Shaddix, Jerry Horton, Tobin Esperance and Tony Palermo
Catch the band on their tour:
https://www.facebook.com/paparoach/
http://www.paparoach.com
Review by : Lindsay Smith-Boam
