A healthy handful of chords, tautly played. Relatable lyricism, straight from the heart. Craft so catchy you’re singing along before you even know the words. These are the fundamentals of real rock and roll—and as delivered by Robert LaRoche on Sacred Vow, they’ve never been such a vital force. This record is a wakeup call, compelling the artist and the listener to rise up, reach out, and get it together, now.

 “Our time is finite,” LaRoche says simply of the album’s sense of urgency. “I want to be an active participant in my own destiny.” He’s been doing exactly that, a working songwriter and musician since founding and fronting New England power pop legends The Sighs in the 1980s. Yet this collection sounds as if rock and roll was invented just this morning—fresh, focused, and forthrightly confrontational.

 The rousing, ringing opener “Cross the Line” is a challenge to face our demons, and uplifting “Downward Slide” continues in that vein, relying on the energy of guitar-bass-drums to revel in everyman redemption. While blistering blues-rocker “Bottle in Your Hand” takes a hardline look at addiction, it’s the countrified confession of the title track, punctuated with pedal steel and dobro, that has LaRoche imploring: “Bring back my faith, shelter me now/Pride will pull me under ’til I embrace your sacred vow.”

 “I’m chronicling my own weaknesses and desires, while at the same time trying to let go of regrets and stay present,” says LaRoche, clean and sober himself for 13 years. “A big part of my recovery has been turning my will over to a higher power, and for sure this has seeped into my songs—ideally that would offer hope to others who are struggling.”

 For all its at-times brutal honesty, Sacred Vow also shimmers with pure positivity. Unabashedly poppy but nonetheless plaintive, “Calling Me Back Home” is a paean to human connection. And then there’s the never-too-late romance of “Very Last Call,” with its woah-yeah yearning and targeted guitar—the sort of supple love song that filled Forevermore, LaRoche’s 2023 solo effort.

 Personnel on Sacred Vow includes Omad Records owner John DeNicola, who’s been in LaRoche’s corner since producing the first Sighs’ LP back in 1992. “Working with John is always a great pleasure,” LaRoche says. “He not only creates an atmosphere of positive energy and studio spontaneity where all ideas are considered, the fact that he’s credited with 14 different instruments speaks volumes to what his musicianship has to offer.”

 Also present is former Sighs’ co-fouder Tommy Pluta on drums. “In addition to being an exceptional musician, Tommy is my best friend,” LaRoche says. “We’ve been through the trenches of the music business together, but never lost sight of the most important aspect—the music itself!”

 DeNicola and Pluta will form LaRoche’s rhythm section in a combo rounded out with the stellar pedal steel of John Leon (a buddy from Austin, Texas, LaRoche’s adopted city since The Sighs’ disbanding in the mid-‘90s).They’ll play live to celebrate the release of Sacred Vow; then LaRoche will take it across the pond and on the road, touring Europe through the fall.

 “Songwriting, recording, and live performances are a force for good,” LaRoche proclaims. Give his latest a listen and be inspired to live your best life, from this moment on. “The Sacred Vow is to be true to yourself, true to your craft—whatever that may be—and hold onto a belief in a power greater than yourself.”