Taproot’s first album for a major label, Gift arrived in 2000 with the reputation of a band courted then dropped by Fred Durst, an episode that fed its legend as much as its music. The Michigan record blends syncopated riffs, more introspective atmospheres and the versatile voice of Stephen Richards, able to move from a whisper to a scream.
Again and Again, the best known single, illustrates this pursuit of a less frontal nu metal, attentive to nuance and dynamics. The ambition is real, but the writing stays uneven and some tracks struggle to stand out over the full length. Gift matters above all as the promising starting point of a band that would refine its voice later, an endearing rather than essential record, a witness to a scene in full ferment.
