Robert LaRoche issues in the stunning A Thousand Shades 

The best summer records have a very distinct sound and feel. They tend to embody the reckless abandon and incomparably youthful catharsis that comes with the season better than any others can, and what Robert LaRoche issues in the stunning A Thousand Shades definitely qualifies as one of these special songbooks. LaRoche divvies out the white-hot grooves in the seductively poppy “Jet Blue,” evocative western twang in the title track, sweet bonfire beats in “The Dream is Gone” and introspective beach balladry in “Too Much at Once,” and by the time that we’ve reached the conclusion of the EP, it feels as though we’ve spent a day in the summer sun, no matter what time of year it is. A Thousand Shades is a stellar listen, and it’s one of my favorite new records out this month.

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The fretwork is pretty fiery in “Jet Blue,” but LaRoche steers clear of old school virtuosity in this extended play. Aside from this song, the guitar parts that we find in “Seeds of Doubt,” “Drawn to You” and “Too Much at Once” are pretty low-key and arranged as to direct our focus towards other elements in the music, from the percussion to the vocal to the additional components within the string section (particularly in the title track). Excess hasn’t done anyone in rock n’ roll any favors since the late 80’s, and while LaRoche isn’t shy about dabbling in the same melodic tones that one would find in Tim or Candy Apple Grey, I wouldn’t go as far as to call this record a throwback to proto-alternative rock at all.

“The Dream is Gone,” “Drawn to You” and “Jet Blue” have a more physical mix than what we hear in the title track, the pastoral “Seeds of Doubt” and “Too Much at Once,” but I get the feeling that this was completely intentional on the part of Robert LaRoche. There’s a lot of duality to this EP, certainly more than you would discover in a stylistically comparable mainstream release this July, and by giving each of the tracks a different finish, every song feels raw and individually constructed. None of this music has that ugly, over-processed texture to it, and it’s obvious even to non-audiophiles that a lot of time and effort went into making this material as engaging as possible.

Provocative, stylish and sporting a greater depth of emotion than past offerings have, this diversely appointed extended play from the one and only Robert LaRoche is a winner as far as I am concerned, and once you give it a listen for yourself, my gut tells me that you’re going to feel the same way. In a career that has spanned the last three decades, LaRoche has grown tremendously as an artist, and this might be his most well-rounded group of songs to see widespread release since his work with the band the Sighs over twenty three years ago. A Thousand Shades is a wonderful addition to an already sterling body of work, and I hope that it isn’t the last record of its kind to grace airwaves before the 2010s expire.

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Mark Drueryve, this diversely appointed extended play from the one and only Robert LaRoche is a winner as far as I am concerned, and once you give it a listen for yourself, my gut tells me that you’re going to feel the same way. In a career that has spanned the last three decades, LaRoche has grown tremendously as an artist, and this might be his most well-rounded group of songs to see widespread release since his work with the band the Sighs over twenty three years ago. A Thousand Shades is a wonderful addition to an already sterling body of work, and I hope that it isn’t the last record of its kind to grace airwaves before the 2010s expire.

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006986055007

Mark Druery