CHRIS LAROCCAi “cried my eyes out” Album Review
by Sean Cavanaugh
If you discovered Chris LaRocca through the title track of his new album i cried my eyes out you may think you know what is coming after the first verse. Surely, here comes another male solo artist crooning about heartbreak through reverb vocals on a bedroom pop track. LaRocca then demolishes those bedroom pop walls like a bulldozer with an eardrum-pulsating chorus.
The euphoric, forceful hook makes sense too when you discover where the Toronto-based artist began his musical artist journey. LaRocca crafted his early music experience on the road through Canada in sweaty, intimate gigs with his former bands. He hopped from groups ranging in screamo post-hardcore, electronic indie, and math rock. No matter the music, LaRocca liked it loud. “But really, I just want everything to sound like your face is getting blown off,” as he once said.
The up-and-coming singer brings that energy to his debut album. LaRocca transcends genres from soulful moments to climactic bridges fit for a buzzing festival crowd. No matter where LaRocca takes his music, the energy follows.
The pounding 808’s in ‘breakup coach’ are compressed yet still provide the foundation for another heart-pounding ride. LaRocca’s finesse comes through on his sweet falsetto in the chorus but this track, like much of the album, is all gas, no brakes.
Speaking of, you know that moment when you are 15 minutes into some at-home HITT workout you found on YouTube after you pulled yourself from the couch and you think everything is fine and suddenly the overexcited instructor starts blazing through high knees so fast, there is smoke coming from her Nikes? Yeah, that’s the kind of energy LaRocca rips through on the title track. Except listening to this one is joy-inducing, not vomit-inducing like that workout.
The vocals ascend both in harmony and spatial planes. The emotion is raw in the most perfect way. It would take a few listens to hear all the instrumental layers but they all mesh together in a single sound. A single sound with a single mission. Take the listener higher.
LaRocca shows off his pension with autotune and silky pop synths on ‘life of the party’. This time a surprise fuzzy riff from an electric guitar adds to the groove that keeps this one from ever nearing the ground.
There is a higher volume even on the more intimate and slower moments such as the tracks ‘linger’ and ‘gloria’. LaRocca slows down the music but still keeps his vocals on the forefront with a powerful dynamic. The listener can tell there is heartbreak and pangs of sorrow yet they still hit you in the face as LaRocca likes it. These songs are not the stare out the rainy window of a quiet coffee shop kind of vibes.
LaRocca sings of a relatable feeling on ‘left out’: FOMO. Even the sad moments of watching friends enjoy life through the black mirror of your phone while keeping your company cannot bring the energy of this album down. The pounding synths and drums in the chorus are like auditory pyrotechnics and provide the background to one of the catchier songs on the record.
The Canadian singer flips his sounds on its head once again on the album closer ‘because of u’. There is an instrumental break filled with horns. There is a brooding guitar and bass combo that hearkens back to a 50’s era serenade. And then LaRocca tops it off with sweet harmonies that will make you want to sway like the valedictorian who somehow landed the hottest prom date at the end of a coming-of-age movie.
LaRocca is clearly a man of many talents. His debut album shows them off in more ways than one and shows them off at the highest volume. Consider our faces blown off.
Photograph by andrwsnapd
