by Matt Collar

Having long ago dumped the tired rap-rock format of their early work, Papa Roach continues attempting to reinvent the hard rock wheel on 2006's The Paramour Sessions. Unfortunately, while the band seems to be aiming for Mötley Crüe's Theatre of Pain, the results sound something more akin to a nu-metal version of Loverboy's Keep It Up. These are boisterous, brash, and in-yo-face tracks that really want to convince you they have the goods. And sure, the band does evince a kind of Technicolor, Sunset Strip club, cocaine-line-on-a-Marshall-stack vibe, but mostly the songs just ain't there. Admittedly, "The World Around You" has a catchy chorus and "Time Is Running Out" is a suitably anthemic pop tune. However, while Papa Roach makes a lot of gestures toward rock & roll suicide on The Paramour Sessions, the album ends up being a lot like lead singer Jacoby Shaddix's confession of "I've got a jet black heart, it's all f*cked up and it's falling apart" on "...To Be Loved." It sounds a lot cooler than it actually is.