“We’ve never been part of any scene,” he continues. “We’ve never had a style you can describe with a catch phrase or a clearly defined look, just good songs that we work hard to play well. But there are people who still remember the lyrics to the songs we were playing back in Cardiff.” One of those, “This Life,” made it onto The Truth, and it IS one catchy motherfucker. Daniel Lanois, who shares a music publisher with La Rocca, remarked upon hearing it: “That’s it! That song is a gift. Here’s what’s gonna happen: You’ll release that song and spend three years playing it around the globe. End of story.”
Writing a single perfect pop song is more than most bands achieve in a lifetime. But The Truth is bigger than that, larger-than-life. Note the headlong tumble of “Sketches,” the Supergrass-y gallop of “Sing Song Sung,” the sweeping melodies of “Capitol Pill” and “Goodnight” and “Some You Give Away,” the Exile on Main Street swagger of “The Truth.” The power of these songs is in the writing, in La Rocca’s unerring ability to hit the pleasure center again and again.