Rising artist, producer, and awarded songwriter Chris LaRocca has released his EP ‘dog years’ on Red Bull Records/Wonderchild. 
The first new single off the EP is the funk-infused “preaching to the choir” – an anthem for overthinkers in love. Punctuated by a thumping indie-folk production, “preaching to the choir” gets real about all the irrational questions you wish you could ask your partner over and over again.
On the single, LaRocca shares: “It’s said that being in a relationship is like looking into a mirror, and that is the concept behind ‘preaching to the choir’. it’s an ode to anxiety and what it must feel like to be intimately close with someone like myself. The lyrics present themselves as a rambling train of thought, highlighting all the quirks in my character that I felt my partner at the time was noticing in me. I wrote this song at a turning point in my life and a moment of self-discovery, and for better or for worse, I truly feel that this song memorializes a past version of myself at a very poignant time in my life”.
Chris LaRocca’s deep admiration for 70s era folk and Americana music may come as a surprise when looking at his career as an awarded songwriter and producer. Working with artists like Bryson Tiller, Kali Uchis, and Russ – the world of Americana music feels very far away. Although it lives in a new lane from his previous projects, there is a certainty to the way each song came together. It feels spontaneous but also planned, as if LaRocca had always known he was going to create something like this but hadn’t found the right time or reason. ‘dog years’ is Chris LaRocca’s homage to the sounds of such an iconic era in music history, while still being undeniably his own – affectionately referring to his journey through the genres as “Canadiana” music.
This has been a busy year for Chris LaRocca, releasing five singles leading up to the EP’s release. Starting the year off with “ladybug” and “laundry day”, followed shortly by “slow dance in the diner”, “normal guy”, and “last pair of boots in town”.
The second new track from ‘dog years’ is the aptly titled “fed up!!”. Listeners hear a more echoed vocal from LaRocca as he lets his guitar lead. It feels regretful and a little bitter, but not truly angry. The title track, “dog years” rounds out the collection of new music arriving with the EP. The song reveals more clearly the message behind the project – time can feel like it’s passing exponentially quickly and painfully slowly at the same time. Growth is not linear, and neither is healing, but there is an assuredness to LaRocca in this track – as if the “dog year” that inspired the EP was not his first.
On the process of creating the EP, LaRocca shares: “I started working on this project on January 1st, 2024, and finished it in November of that year. There was a lot of creative discovery within the boundaries of this project, from collaborators, to sounds, to songwriting style – all reaching new territories that I’ve been wanting to explore for quite some time. It chronicled a calendar year of love and heartbreak, wins and losses, growth and pain in real time – anytime something meaningful happened within that timeframe, I put it into a song”.
As he reflects on the final moments polishing the project, LaRocca continues: “By the end of it all I realized how much can really happen in a year, and how much you can change in that time – especially the older you get, the days go slow and the years go fast. Sometimes, even moreso in a life of creativity, it can really feel like you are living dog years at a time – experiencing the growth of several years in one. I felt as if I were living out this sentiment in my own life, and when listening back to ‘dog years’ start to finish, it felt as if the project named itself”.
This project was built upon a shared appreciation for music that moves people. Chris LaRocca worked with incredible musicians and producers to create ‘dog years’, from Canadian producer Daniel Lanois (Bob Dylan, Neil Young) and Alex “Ace G” Erenwein (Drake, Jack Harlow, Daniel Caesar) to “Dirty” Dave Marcus (Blxst, Rico Nasty, Offset) and Herag Sanbalian (Alessia Cara, Nelly Furtado), and more.
From the year that felt like seven, Chris LaRocca has put together a 360-degree exploration of a brand-new sound. ‘dog years’ showcases his personal relationship with the songwriting styles made famous by Americana and folk musicians, and the layered sonic landscapes from these genres that have always inspired him to dig deeper.
‘dog years’ is pensive, patient; it feels like pain but also like healing. With each single, Chris LaRocca leans into the best and the worst moments with the same attention to detail. The personal growth from this formative “dog year” shines so clearly in this project, as LaRocca continues to evolve.
‘dog years’ Tracklisting
1. ladybug
2. laundry day
3. slow dance in the diner
4. preaching to the choir
5. normal guy
6. fed up!!
7. dog years
8. last pair of boots in town
