Let The Road Pave Itself

Artist: Phillip LaRue
Label: BEC Recordings
Genre: Pop, Contemporary

When Phillip LaRue and his sister Natalie formed their duo LaRue, back in the late '90s, theirs was a fresh-faced, modern pop sound ripe with youthful exuberance that--even to their own chagrin--appealed to The Disney Channel audience. But lyrically and personally, there was always more depth than the surface suggested.

Ten years and a lifetime of experience later, Phillip LaRue reluctantly signs with BEC, a division of Tooth & Nail, to forge his own artistic path.

Let the Road Pave Itself--the title, a piece of friendly advice--was recorded live in the studio to an old fashioned two-inch tape reel, capturing the warmth and authenticity of Phillip and his friends playing real time rock with lyrics that stay with the listener long after the track runs out.

"Chasing the Daylight," a mid-range, organic rocker about the pursuit of hope in dark times opens the collection. "It's in the unraveling of life that we find God even more," Phillip says of the song.

Whether he's singing love songs to his wife ("You're All I Want" and "Sleeping Beauty"), confessing his own humanness ("Before the Sun Goes Down") or his dreams for his closest loved ones ("Black and Blue"), Phillip LaRue's honest sense of self and the vulnerability with which he sings gives the songs undeniable potency.

"I'm stepping back into this world, and I could care less about some of the details," he says of the motivation behind the project. "As far as being popular, I've kind of tasted and seen that. I still want great things to happen, but more importantly I just want to be me in the process. I still believe in the power of music and want people to find hope through this record. If I can throw a rock and make another ripple, then what a blessing."

Musically compelling, poetic rubber meeting the road--a powerful combination that makes Let the Road Pave Itself a solo debut worth checking out.