Papa Roach
Potatoes For Christmas

My passion for this group, Papa Roach, has led me to do everything possible to learn about their history and deep origins. During this journey, a mandatory stop is listening to their first and most famous EP, 'Potatoes For Christmas', which was created in 1994, preceding the following three EPs, 'Caca Bonita' from 1995, 'Five Tracks Deep' from 1998, and lastly 'Let'Em Know' from 1999, which are impossible to find. The last two EPs were recorded by the current line-up, while 'Potatoes For Christmas' only features Jacoby Shaddix and Jerry Horton, with the notable absence of the drummer and co-founder David Buckner, replaced by colleague Ryan Brown, and Tobin Esperance on bass, who at the time was fourteen, replaced here by Will James.

But let's talk about the album, which gave Papa Roach the opportunity to take their first steps on stage alongside Static-X and Incubus. The seven tracks are very raw and chaotic, as you can tell right from the first one, "Coffee Thoughts", which opens with galloping notes of snare and bass, continuing in parallel throughout the piece, with a journey that is well executed nonetheless. Jacoby Shaddix's voice is unrecognizable, possibly due to his young and raw vocal cords. "Mama's Dress" is performed frantically, the words are incomprehensible, with rapid rapping alternating with Shaddix's wild screams. However, once again, the instrumental execution turns out to be remarkable, the speed of execution, even with some smudges, highlights the raw talent of the band. The same considerations apply to "Lenny's", which on the sheet music includes continuous changes of rhythm, first fast and frantic then slow, led by Ryan Brown's excellent drumming; the vocal performance is sometimes very peculiar, with fast talking punctuated by screeching verses and small high-pitched notes.

"Lulu Espidachi" and "Cheez z Fux" differ little from each other, both marked by rapid rapping alternating with prolonged screams. "I Love Babies" is a very strange and original track, the musical backdrop mainly composed of very confused bass notes underpins a screeching talk alternated with screams. The work closes with "Dendrilopis", a very short track with almost absent lyrics, reminiscent in sound of the musical style of the Beastie Boys and the famous "Fight For Your Right".

In conclusion, this 'Potatoes For Christmas', with its raw features, shows the very first steps of what would become a band worth noting just six years later. These seven tracks, however, cannot be entirely attributed to the origins of Papa Roach, given that during that period there was a constant change in the group's lineup. Nonetheless, the character of this EP can also be found in the first album, "Old Friends From Young Years", whose tracks contain many similarities in terms of sound, vocal choices, and lyrics.

What can I say, it's hard to rate a work like this, but without a doubt, the instrumental execution is really good. So, if one day my more in-depth research is successful, the next review will be about another EP... if I fail, it will be about the new album... We'll see...

Stay Tuned!