lisa pikaard is head strong…
Post-grunge, alt metal, and pop.
Those are three genres you don’t often combine but Trapt has been doing so successfully for over a decade. The band’s fifth studio album, Reborn, due out later this month, will hopefully help the band continue to be successful for another ten years.
I know a lot of people may ask where I came up with those three genres and wonder why in the world I would boast that a band is blending the three together because it sounds like a horrible idea. Well the musical aspects of Reborn are most certainly alt metal; the guitar riffs are ridiculously intense and the drums are seriously hard-hitting. So where do the post-grunge and pop genres come from? The vocals of Chris Taylor Brown should never be defined as anything as cliche as post-grunge but if I had to categorize him, that’d have to be it. Trapt’s music is so catchy and radio friendly that the pop aspect has to be thrown in there too. Even though it sounds like a horrible idea to mix those three genres together, its an amalgam that has worked well for Trapt for quite some time and that formula will lead them to continued success with this newest effort.
If you have ever listened to a Trapt album and enjoyed a track on it, you will find something to love on Reborn. The record boasts many songs that demonstrate how the band has evolved yet has not strayed far from the sound it has perfected. The one song that truly epitomizes this idea for me is “Going Under.” It has just the right amount of what I’d expect from Trapt with just enough novelty to impress me. In other words, the band is staying very true to its past without becoming stagnant. “Livewire,” unfortunately, reminds me of old Trapt and doesn’t show much growth. It’s probably one of the few letdowns on the album for me.
On a much higher note, most listeners to hard rock stations have probably heard Trapt’s first single off of the new album, “Bring It.” This song is simply a great rock track that deserves the radio spins its been getting. Another song that can easily get a few spins is “Get Out of Your Own Way.” I’ve given it multiple listens to without even meaning to. There is just something about this song that you can listen to it constantly and not even realize you’re doing it. It’s the perfect background song and I mean that in the best way possible. It has a great beat that you can listen to while working, reading, working out, it doesn’t matter. It isn’t too hard but it builds with a tension that is almost palpable.
The last and most important song I want to highlight is “Too Close.” If you’re going to give just one song on this album a shot, please make it this song. It is different and shows true growth for the band. It is probably the most diverse musically and definitely one of my favorites on the album. I really hope that this is a direction that Trapt chooses to pursue as it continues to evolve and grow.
