Album Review: Chris LaRocca Makes Love Go “Voila”!
Get ready for some serious mood-changers in the form of songs. Chris LaRocca’s VOILA is a good reference to the global, French version, “Woop, there it is!”. The instantaneous nature of love hypnotizes LaRocca in sound and voice because nothing hits you faster than a crush, and nothing crushes you more than one, as well.
For LaRocca, love is like a magic trick. One minute the girl is there posing, and, the next, VOILA!, she has disappeared. The velvet curtain used to drape her from the crowd has now made her gone from their sight. Chris is “the crowd”, trying to figure out love/ “the trick”, but unwilling to lose how mystifying it is to simply not know. The first half of the EP “Roses”, “Closer”, and “Wild” are like buildups to how enveloping love is, even with its uncertainty. Sonically, synths and analogs rise like trees from the earth to show that what was once beneath you is now towering above you, which is exactly what love does. Suddenly, everything that you thought you would NEVER like becomes, at least, tolerable, and anything you thought would not try becomes plausible. Thus, the first half of Voila catapults LaRocca into an electro vacuum of sounds that swoop ,in word and feel, like they are pulling you into another world you avoid: your heart. LaRocca’s voice appears like a quiet heartbeat; as if he is measuring his vocals to what he does not know rather than what he does, which ignites listeners’ curiosity. Remember, love is a magic trick he is unsure if he wants to discover “how its done”. Thus, how he molds his voice to his lyrics and sound carries a sense of fascination and fear. If love tricks me will I fall, but if it does not will I cave? If I cannot be mystified by someone or something greater then can I say life is exciting? Enter the last two tracks of the EP to give Chris a more nuanced perspective.
“One Thing” and “Trouble” furthers the cracks of love through lyrics that show love’s uncertainty can be heartbreaking. It is as if LaRocca has taken you through a 5 track circle where you run for, away, and back to love because, in the end, what you do not know always attracts you more than what you do, and love is never a clear entity, even if you have to be clear about it. With tropical beats that twilight throughout the album, I was loving this record. It is one to put on, and feel taken by better vibes on things, like love, that can haze an ambiance. Thus, this self-taught musician has made a charming, welcoming debut for anyone that wants to cohort on how savvy love is to never reveal itself but, somehow, always make its presence known. For More Information Chris LaRocca and to Buy the Voila EP Click Here.
