One new release in our library has me singing down the hallways and throwing a mini dance party in the studio. With catchy hooks and driving grooves, No Matter The Season by Eamon Doyle (aka Eamon) is an energetic batch of earworms. Featuring African soul samples layered with horns, zesty guitar riffs and mantra like lyrics, these tracks linger. Eamon grew up in the music industry with the taste of recognition early on and his latest release is a leap in the evolution of his sound.
A millennial born and raised on Staten Island by Italian and Irish parents, Doyle cut his teeth on vocals in his dad’s hobbyist doo-wop group, The Elations. His piercing adolescent vocals featured on their tune Why Do Fools Fall In Love are reminiscent of a young Michael Jackson. Eamon’s efforts in the 2000s were labeled as “Ho-wop”, an urban sound that blends the smoothness of R&B and the grit of hip-hop. His bitter break up single “F*&k It (I Don’t Want You Back)” got traction in 2004 with 129 million streams on Spotify. Since then, his albums Golden Rail Motel (2017) and later Captive Thoughts (2019) have been big leaps on a journey from pop deep into neo-soul. No Matter The Season is sophisticated, fleshed out, powerful R&B and soul.
When this album arrived, I thought for sure it was a debut, as it was such a departure from this artist's previous works. Dark and emotionally honest lyrics are now backed with maturity and nuance, elementary pop synths have been replaced with inventive '60s-'70s African soul samples, embellished by soulful horn lines and explosive vocals with equally emotive backing vocals. When you hear it, you can’t help but dance.
No Matter The Season is one of those albums with a story arc. The first track, Believe In sets the scene by introducing our lead character. We learn he’s been up against hardships, is at a pivotal moment, and is ready to make some changes as we’re invited in to hear more about it. On Bury The Bones, he dives into admittance and dark descriptions of his shadows paired with a sense of determination to “crawl out of the hole” creating a sympathetic character you can’t help but root for. It has funk laden guitar lines and catchy backing vocals: “diggin, diggin, diggin the bones.” This will definitely be on my Friday the 13th and Halloween playlists. The case for this underdog is strengthened on Good News where you hear an account of all the odds he’s up against followed by his own vote of confidence cheerleading himself on — you just have to get on board. Sing along to this and your own self-confidence goes through the roof with “I’ve got good news, bet on me ya’ won’t lose!” On All I Need we hear him give credit to love, inspiration and support in his life. It feels good to hear. There’s stability in the upswing in his life. You get the feeling it’s going to stick. By the time you get to Come On Through you want to celebrate with this enigma. It’s an invitation to dance and you’re ready to move when he asks.
If you’re looking for an encouraging Cinderella story of emotional evolution, try this record out. Eamon is riding high on a great wave of today's neo-soul resurgence. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next. Until then No Matter The Season will be in my own personal heavy rotation list inspiring me to live and love and dance.
