If your kids are growing older, Butlins may just be your Last Resort! It’s Scuzz Sunday!

It’s that time of the week again! Good Morning, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing about this week’s edition of Scuzz Sundays on the blog, where we revisit an old pop-punk or emo-rock classic from the late-1990’s until the mid-2000’s to see if it can still hold up to modern quality! This time around, Papa Roach’s “Last Resort” is on the chopping block. The chances are very likely that you’ve heard this one before, even if you don’t recognize it by its name. The track came from the band’s second studio LP, “Infest”, which was released in April 2000 by DreamWorks (Yes, it’s the same company that made ‘Shrek’). “Last Resort” was the lead single from the record, a track that was a top-ten chart hit in many countries, including Germany, Portugal and, of course, the UK. The album itself was a mega-hit for the Californian band, as it has sold over seven million copies worldwide (at the time of writing), and it earned the band a Grammy nomination for “Best New Artist”. The track was prominently used on the 2000 film “Ready To Rumble” and it’s marketing materials, and Papa Roach notably went on to record the theme song for WWE’s Monday Night Raw programming. That’s mostly how come I’ve known about them. Let’s take a trip to the group’s “Last Resort” below.

A commercial hit that showed off the band’s hip-hop influences and pushed their pioneering Rap-Metal style to the confines of the mainstream rock audiences, Papa Roach’s “Last Resort” was played on major radio stations all over the world, and it was placed on heavy rotation on TV music video channels. Jacoby Shaddix proclaims: “Cut my life into pieces/This is my last resort” over the top of a heavy, energetic lead guitar riff and a scratchy bass guitar riff that evokes Progressive Rock sounds. The chorus explodes, with a punchy drum section and a raw, mastered sense of percussive guitar work, as Shaddix chants: “Losing my sight, Losing my mind/I wish somebody would tell me I’m fine”, seeking self-assurance and comfort in a time of need, layered above the brash, loud instrumentation. The verses lower the upbeat tempo slightly, whilst the lyrics feel very prominent and substantial. Shaddix raps: “I never realized I was spread too thin, ‘Til I was too late and I was empty within” and “Searching to find a love upon a higher level, finding nothing but questions and devils” as a fiery aggression surfaces up to the main melodies, waiting for the chorus to swell up during the chorus. I can’t really say that it’s my thing personally since I’ve never been a part of the hardcore punk world which the track was aiming towards, but there’s a pop melodicism that makes the beats feel catchy and radio-friendly enough for me to see why it had an impact. Personally, I find the sound to be a little bit too cliche’ and the lyrics to feel a tad derivative to really captivate me, but the rap-inflicted verses are quite good fun and the guitar/drum riffs are solid. I probably wouldn’t choose to listen intently to this – but it really is a proper Scuzz Sunday track!

Thank you very much for reading this post! Tomorrow, I’m planning to kick off the new week in style with an in-depth review of some brand new music from an indie electro-pop 6-piece formed in Brighton, England who conjoin indie rock and garage rock with a mixture of Bollywood backing tracks, double Dutch chants and distorted guitar rhythms, combined with more elements that were heavily influenced by old-school hip-hop. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime