TJ Doyle’s ‘Unconditional’ Single Is His Surrender To Making Sagacious Music

The music of TJ Doyle exceeds all expectations. That you would have any that are less than to expect greatness, is troubling. Get that looked at! Actually, you should just jump right into TJ Doyle’s music because when you do, you’ll encounter all the pleasantries you should expect from any first meeting where you find that you’re in great company. A

I say this because I know people who won’t even bother to click on even so much as a link, not because they’re afraid of a malware infection, but because they’re too fragile to even let something cross their path for whatever journey they’re on.

But once you do, you’ll find that there is so much warmth with TJ Doyle. Combine twinkling guitars with a commanding and yet genuine sense of purpose, and you’ve got an aural testament that TJ Doyle is here to stay. His “Unconditional” track has everything you already love or will love about his work. If you’ve never heard of TJ; it’s not too late to start now.

Even with a little hesitation, “Unconditional” is just a taste of what to expect from Doyle and a definite improvement to your ear.

There’s also so much coldness in the world, but you would never know when you’re in the aural presence of Doyle’s music. His is like a warm house in the middle of a blizzard, tempting you in with hot cocoa and maybe even some bourbon, cause, I like me some bourbon.

Most of TJ Doyle’s music is built from the standard rock riff, but he builds with patience and a steadfast pursuit to bring calm to a turbulent flow that, were it not for Doyle, could have turned out some sub-standard songs.

The fact is that he’s got a very capable five-piece band behind him to make these songs fitting of the wise and all-knowing TJ Doyle. His androgynous vocals also add more to the aesthetic of his work than the standard listener might expect. I can’t even imagine how anyone who isn’t familiar with the musician’s work, could not be pulled into the fullness of these sounds and his voice.

When I first listened to TJ Doyle’s work, it was the title track to his On The Horizon album. If you’ve read any of my other reviews, you’ll find that I’ll make a connection between new and old sounds from my past, to pin down some familiarity. And that’s what happened with that track, which caught my attention from the beginning, as it sounded a lot like a track off of a Cure album.

I’m going to say it was off of 1992’s “Wish” and there is at least one other time where it almost sounds like “To Wish Impossible Things” and maybe TJ is a fan of The Cure?

Vocally, TJ Doyle would appreciate the comparisons to Neil Young — which is an easy comparison to make, even expected and perhaps even one he’s gotten used to. But I’ll go even further and say that to me his voice is more like Roy Orbison and Chris Issac in androgyny and atmosphere.

Go back to 2009’s One True Thing to catch the truly original melodies Doyle spins. With tracks like “Let The Dance Begin”, we find him in true form with nothing less than perfection. Followed by “Why” which triggers another comparison I won’t hold back to make, of a local fave Grant Lee Phillips.

And while we’re here, he at times sounds like the late David Bowie, during his Hours period. How’s that for trying to pin TJ Doyle down, right?

You can hear in “Unconditional” just how short of a journey it is from establishing the basics at the beginning of the track before his vocals convince you to lend him your ears. By the time he’s at the chorus, you’re sold.

Since this single is for the upcoming album, it would behoove you to go lend your ears and hard drive space to get both of his full-length albums and spend some time with them. Even with his first album, you can hear his signature sound fully developed, fleshed out and everlasting. He’s already leaving behind two albums worth of music that will outlive him.

And that being the case, it would double-behoove you to heed the message in songs. It’s positive without being preachy, or annoyingly environmental, humanistic, or whatever is the exact opposite of not giving a shit. Listen to “Human” when he sings:

“We’re all human, we just need to be humane”

I believe him. It reminds me that I need to make sure I’m listening to that track when I confront a Trump supporter, otherwise, whatever happens, is their fault. I guess that would be my coin equivalent, to Two-Face’s heads or tails solution.

In every case, TJ Doyle is right. We do need to be humane and we also need to care a lot more about the things around us. There’s no denying any of that, when it comes from TJ Doyle.

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Featured image by Bo Roberts / Facebook