In Rock, Veritas
La Rocca took its name from a bar in Bristol, England, but its music is not a booze-soaked affair like The Pogues, having more in common with fellow Dubliners U2. Originally from Ireland and England (singer-guitarist Bjorn Baillie, his brother bassist-singer Simon Baillie, keyboardist-guitarist-singer Nick Haworth and drummer Alan Redmond), the band transplanted to Los Angeles to record its debut album, The Truth, one of the best pop-rock albums of 2006.The Truth starts with a bang on “Sketches (Twenty Something Life),” a song filled with bouncy, melodic keyboards reminiscent of Game Theory’s “Sleeping Through Heaven.” Bjorn chronicles a young man’s exploits which are reduced to entries in a diary rather than etched in memory (“All I have’s this journal that I write / Sketches of a twenty-something life”); juxtaposed with the anthemic nature of the music, the effect is somehow uplifting rather than depressing. “If You Need The Morning” features fuzzy keyboards, crashing cymbals and lovely harmonies, with Bjorn’s slightly weathered vocals adding depth to the song’s theme of inner romantic turmoil. In the same vein, “Some You Give Away” presents a beautifully plaintive tale of loss where even minor hopes are cast aside: “Maybe we’ll pass through L.A. again; older and better with all the charm of friends / It’s unlikely if the truth be told / Some you lose and some you give away.”
Other highlights include the galloping “Sing Song Sung,” the catchy-as-hell “Cats” and “Eyes While Open,” and the Mick Jaggerish swagger of “This Life.” The album ends not with a whimper, but a moment of quiet reflection in the slow-tempo embrace of “Capitol Pill.”
La Rocca’s solid pop instincts are buoyed by pure musicianship and anchored by expert rock; the catchy songs with their sing-a-long choruses and musical hooks make The Truth more than memorable. Judging from the sweep and occasional sheer poetry of La Rocca’s music, the band should be playing arenas before long.
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