Singer-songwriter Paul Roth is originally from the Central Coast of New South Wales and is now resident in Hong Kong after years spent playing in different parts of the world. He’s released an EP, Remember This, and earlier this year released the single ‘Still’, in addition to playing with and releasing music with the indie-rock band Esimorp and a duo.
Roth’s latest single is ‘L.A.’, a country-pop song that has influences from Keith Urban and The Eagles, amongst others. The song certainly has a laidback West Coast feel to it, although it’s really about the end of a relationship and, as Roth says, realising that the loving thing for the other person is to let them go. The upbeat tone to the song could signify that the narrator is putting on a good face to the world, or perhaps trying to convince himself that what’s happening really is for the best – Roth says that he likes ‘how sometimes sad songs can sound happy and vice versa’. The juxtaposition of musical tone with lyrics means that it’s worth going back to the song again and again, to peel back its layers and find out what’s really going on.
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