Album of the Week: Yo Gabba Gabba! vs. Papa Roach
By Sasha Patpatia
What do California hardcore rockers Papa Roach and the children’s television program Yo Gabba Gabba! have in common?
‘Absolutely nothing’, I thought, as I gave their new albums a spin. On August 31st, Papa Roach released Time For Annihilation… On the Record, and On the Road, which builds on the hard rock sound they developed on their 2009 album Metamorphosis. The track “Burn” is a perfect example of the band’s progression from typical punk rock into a more experimental fusion sound. The verse starts with an atypical drum beat leading to a grungy chorus that ends with a harmony that Kurt Cobain would have been proud of.
The single “Kick in the Teeth” is the band’s crowd winning stadium anthem, complete with crunchy guitar choruses and chants about sticking it to the man. If you’re in the rock anthem mood, you’d be better off reverting back to your Green Day collection. Papa Roach is most successful when they are mixing their punk, metal, and hardcore influences rather than trying to emulate them.
On the other side of the musical spectrum lies Yo Gabba Gabba!, the popular children’s show created by Christian Jacobs, frontman of the synth-pop ska band The Aquabats. Unhappy with the lack of appropriate children’s television programming, Jacobs teamed up with producer Scott Schultz to create a musical series for kids. Collaborating with artists as varied as Apples in Stereo and Jimmy Eat World, Yo Gabba Gabba! are raising a new generation of hipsters with their densely orchestrated and challenging music. This isn’t Barney.
While Papa Roach mixes hardcore influences, Yo Gabba Gabba! blends sounds from the indie scene in their new album Music is Awesome Volume 2. “The Freeze Game” features processed vocals and intricate harmonies over a synth bass line, while “Beautiful Day with my Best Friend” is a more straightforward rock offering with a catchy chorus and wailing guitars. Neither of these songs sound like they should be on a kid’s album, but that’s why this album is so successful. Kids don’t want to be looked down upon. They want to be treated with the same respect and intelligence as adults, and that is what Yo Gabba Gabba! excels at doing.
Most of the lyrics are simplistic, extolling the virtues of friendship and family, but the intelligently orchestrated songs are a far cry from the dumbed down “I Love You” Barney song. By using similar strategies of genre blending, Time for Annihilation and Music is Awesome Volume 2 find a more varied audience than most albums do. Fans of punk, metal, and screamo will all find something valuable in Papa Roach’s new album. And while Yo Gabba Gabba!’s marketing is aimed towards kids, I wouldn’t be surprised if just as many adults find themselves picking it up from the shelves.
Time for Annihilation is available on Amazon for $7.99, and Music is Awesome Volume 2 is available for $10.99.
Though these two albums caught our eye, check out these other releases on August 31st:
- Be My Thrill – The Weepies
- I’m Having Fun Now – Jenny and Johnny
- Red Velvet Car - Heart
- Feeding the Wolves – 10 Years
What album will you be picking up this week?
