I hate to break it to you, but summer is almost over. Soon it’s going to be cold and miserable out.
No need to get depressed just yet though as there is still plenty of time to get rad. Luckily Johnny La Rock is here to add fuel to that fire with his debut, dance-your-pants-off release titled Gold Codes.
Cleveland native La Rock, aka Eddie Fleisher, once showcased his talent in hip-hop duo Johnny La Rock & Mushmouth as well as Presque Vu, but has taken an entirely new approach that surely will appeal to all those looking for a good time.
Gold Codes is La Rock’s solo debut album that is more or less a “life can’t get any worse, let’s party like those people did in Independence Day on top of that skyscraper before the aliens blew that shit up” album. Yeah, I just said that. It’s pop, it’s soul, it’s electronic, and most importantly, it’s good.
“Dance to the Rhythm (Party Time)” started things off just right with a body-moving jam complete with a little 90s inspired hip hop enthusiasm. This was a sincere as hell track that really will make you want to get down.
The inspirational “210 and Mustache” more or less punched negativity in the throat and walked away proud with your head up high. If you do not know what 210 refers to, go ahead and just Google that along with Urban Dictionary.
“Swipe Left” is a honest yet candid track about the norm that is called online dating. I loved the line “you seem cool on the internet, in real life you’re insane.” I loved the vintage video dating samples, it accompanied perfectly.
“Keep On Keepin’ On” was a fun instrumental jam as was the 80s thriller sounding “Phantasm”. It was cool to have both songs just change things up for a moment without losing momentum. Least I not forget about “Lumin8”, that was solid too.
“Blue Away” was an uplifting alternative to shake off any funk currently holding anyone back. No lie, this song cheered me up. I think a music video is in order for this one (hint, hint).
“Gold Codes” stuck on me for some reason. I think it was more or less because I’ve felt what La Rock sung about on a few occasions over the past 20 years. This was the fight jam I needed to remind me that retaliation happens in many forms as long as you don’t give up.
I’ve seen La Rock live a few times when he focused on rap and most recently with programmer Furface and I have to admit, I am a bigger fan of his solo stuff than I thought I would be. At first I was set back because I was expecting the hip hop, but when the soul-pop dropped, I was an instant fan.
I have to note that this album fueled my recent trip to Vegas and if I had it my way, I would have played it for everyone around me at all hours. The release has jumped up high as one of my favorites of 2018 and I’m not sure any music quite like this will be topping it. I speak high praises because I thoroughly enjoyed almost this entire album from start to finish many times over.
La Rock is the Har Mar Superstar of Cleveland and even manages to keep his clothes on during live sets.
Interpersonal ,humorous party vibes a al Electric Six, La Rock knows how to deliver a good time to all his fans.
Check out what La Rock has to offer below and hopefully you’ll agree that it does not disappoint at all.