The title “Stuck In The Past” encapsulates two different aspects of the 22-year old artist Timothy LaRoque and his debut effort; not only do the songs call you back to the golden generation of music that often seems forgotten nowadays, but his written words, soaked in nostalgia, are reflections of his own past that he finds himself still pondering.
On the first half of this five-track journey, we find ourselves in love, letting love bring out the light in ourselves and others, and questioning what the point of life is without love. The second half of the travel takes a turn and lovers are now strangers, refusing to let go and say no to love they once knew, seeking comfort in others that, too, have lost love.
Both sides to this release, though they contrast, are reflections of Love to the writer. The songs express the multifaceted nature of love; whether love moves you to the point of it making you feel like bursting, or feeling so deprived of it that you’d beg for the warmth that love brings. Still, no matter how cold the emotions portrayed in the songs, you never lose that warmth while listening.
Recorded in Tennessee over a two week period where he stayed with his aunt Cricket and uncle Rob (producer and keyboardist on the EP) in the summer of 2021, “Stuck In The Past” was recorded in-home in Hendersonville, with the drums being tracked at Peter Frampton’s Studio Phenix in Nashville (engineered by Grammy-winning Chuck Ainlay). Thanks to his uncle Rob Arthur, this project featured veteran musicians such as himself, Adam Lester (Peter Frampton), Shawn Fichter (Tim McGraw, Faith Hill) and Will Lee (Late Show with David Letterman).
Whether it’s the way the songs evoke emotion or the high-quality production leaves you with no choice but to get lost in it, “Stuck In The Past” shows itself to be a timeless record and the young LaRoque is proving himself to be in a league of his own.