Sophie Gault – Pocket Change
Record store companies, and all the businesses around, plummeted just like the empires – suddenly and with everyone at the top shrugging and saying, “I had no idea that this was about to happen.”
Yeah, things don’t last forever, and certainly true of pop culture trends. No matter how many people the record companies survey, how young their A&R people become, or how well they ask their question to Chat GPT, they won’t know when the time comes for them to go.
Best invest in what you know! There are only a few things in life that don’t seem to lose their sparkle, and just a few styles of music and methods of performing them that audiences always seem to come back to. Sophie Gault is working with ageless material.
Sophie Gault’s “Pocket Change,” an obscure country song written by Mando Saenz, and applies pressure in just the right places. In Gault’s capable hands, and given a touch of cow-punk energy, the song becomes an anthem for freedom, and a call for cutting ties. Best of all, there’s nothing about this country song that feels like the style’s outworn its welcome. It’s one of the few things that will endure, mark my words!
Robert LaRoche – Sacred Vow
There’s something tragic about the rock stars who fill up stadiums while playing the very same hits every night, and even more so about the people cheering them on. At worst, it says something about our inability to let go and let our heroes be.
But it’s nearly just as sad to hear an interview with one of those people who haunt the big stages of the world. Just like Mariah Carey finding out that poor people need to find ways to pay for their electricity bill, rock stars are generally unaware of anything beyond their setlists and hotel setup.
It’s no wonder that Bono and his pals preach that “All you need is love!” They haven’t gone down far enough as Robert LaRoche have. They haven’t had anything scare them enough to make them want to explore life’s hidden alleys and put those into songs.
There’s something eerie and unfamiliar about Robert LaRoche’s country spiritual of “Sacred Vow.” Even the author sounds a little perplexed at what he’s come face-to-face with. But there’s no mistaking it. LaRoche has gone searching for truth and love in all the wrong places on purpose, and can try to describe to us how this feels. A strong composition from someone cherishing the power of experience!
