As I stated a while back, my first reaction to Ricky Rochelle's new album
Second Layer was simply, "Wow!" On this release, Ricky has not only demonstrated the potential of pop-punk as a genuinely adult genre of music but also bravely bared his soul to the entire world. Heavily inspired by his difficult and complicated relationship with his father (who passed away in 2023),
Second Layer is a record that a lot of people might call "dark." I'll just call it intensely personal, and this album only makes me love Ricky even more as an artist and human. I don't know if I would ever have the guts to put myself out there the way Ricky has on this album. And the beauty of it is that this is deeply relatable stuff he's singing about. When he reflects on living trough trauma and abuse and how it still fills him with self-doubt, he's connecting with so many people who've been in that exact place. The last five songs on the album in particular work as a cohesive narrative, and clearly that sequencing was intentional. Ricky doesn't hold back. You can feel the pain, anger, and desperation in the words, lyrics, and music. And when it culminates in forgiveness in "Before It Was Too Late," it's a powerful resolution. I'm actually tearing up as I type this.
Elsewhere on Second Layer, Ricky devotes the songs "Lovers Escape," "Good News, I Love You," and "Highlight Reel" to perhaps my favorite topic of them all: marital love. So it's not like the album is all a big bummer. But that's how real life is. You can have amazing and terrible things going on in your life at the same time, which is exactly how it was for Ricky Rochelle at the time this album was being written. The musical diversity in these songs fits well with the range of emotions covered throughout the album. "Lovers Escape" and "Highlight Reel" are squarely in pop-punk territory — but definitely more pop than punk. "Good News, I Love You" sounds like Sting wrote a good song for the first time in 40 years. "So Fucking Beautiful" and "Can't Forget the Terror" are full-on 2000s modern rock. "Psychotic Reaction" and "Self-Doubt" bring to mind '90s skate-core/melodic punk. "Before It Was Too Late" is beautiful and largely electronically-driven — a risky undertaking that paid off marvelously.
If you've ever been a fan of Ricky Rochelle, the chances that you'll love Second Layer are basically 100%. He remains a charming and endearing vocalist and a songwriter with a tremendous flair for catchy hooks. This album finds him building off his signature pop-punk style but really pushing the boundaries in terms of the kinds of songs he writes. To say he put his heart and soul into this release would be an understatement. If you're going to go to the trouble to write songs and put them into the universe for an eternity, why not speak your truth? If "pop-punk for grown-ups" is a real genre of music, Second Layer is one of its defining works.
