Artist, producer, and award-winning songwriter Chris LaRocca has released his new EP, dog years.
An homage to his love for 70s folk and Americana, dog years is an energetic, 8-track EP that sees LaRocca cultivate his own ‘Canadiana’ sound.
Released during a busy year for Chris LaRocca, he’s previously released five singles before putting out the full EP. The EP starts off with the energetic “ladybug”, the moody and echoing “laundry day”, before moving into the country-inspired “slow dance in the diner”, which sees the EP at its most ‘Canadiana.’
LaRocca also previously released the funky, summery “normal guy,” which finds him trying out his best, airiest falsetto to great effect — at times reaching Bee Gees-level heights — as well as the single “last pair of boots in town,” which closes the EP on a gentle, whispering note.
New tracks include the grunge-tinged “fed up!!” and the Tame Impala-esque “preaching to the choir,” which stands out as a highlight of the EP. The title track, “dog years,” encapsulates the project’s central idea — that time isn’t linear, often rushing by in ways we barely notice, much like the slow-days, fast-years effect of a so-called 'dog year.'
According to Chris LaRocca: “I started working on this project on January 1, 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. By the end of it all, I realised how much can really happen in a year, and how much you can really change in that time, especially the older you get, the days go slow and the years go fast. Sometimes, even more so in a life of creativity, it can really feel like you’re living dog years at a time.”
Working alongside producer Daniel Lanois (Bob Dylan, Neil Young), Alex ‘Ace G’ Erenwein (Drake, Jack Harlow), “Dirty” Dave Marcus (Rico Nasty, Offset), and Herag Sanbalian (Alessia Cara, Nelly Furtado), dog years is really a deep dive into the genres and songwriting styles that have influences Chris LaRocca to create a careful, deceptively funky record–and really one that LaRocca can be proud of.
It’s not surprising from an artist who has worked with the likes of Kali Uchis, K-pop stars Stray Kids, and Bryson Tiller, but it underscores that Chris LaRocca refuses — and shouldn’t — limit himself to a single genre or style, especially when so few can navigate them as effortlessly as he does.
