Damhnait Doyle

Damhnait Doyle
'Davnet'
Turtlemusic 2003

Much of the more popular musical export from Canada is erroneously lumped into a more general category of being 'American', largely through ignorance. Recently, the more knowledgeable amongst the ever-increasing band of hard-core Americana and Roots fans have discovered a wealth of Canadian talent that they have embraced with open arms on their regular UK tours, the likes of The Wailin' Jennys, Po' Girl and The Bills being amongst those that have enjoyed some success with British music fans.

Other Canadian artists are crawling out of woodwork of local live venues all across the vast expanse of the country, plying their wares to audiences worldwide. Some of them are buried under the contents of sacks of incoming press copies of CD's in magazine offices across the globe, often ending up on second hand record shop shelves without even the courtesy of a cursory glance or listen, never receiving the exposure that they deserve. This is just an observation. I didn't find 'Davnet' in a second hand shop; it was sent to me some time ago (along with albums by Shaye* and Gordie Sampson), just before musicworkz closed the metaphorical doors last year, which explains why the album didn't get a review here. What it doesn't explain is why this enchanting acoustic-led country pop album seems to have had no press outside of Canada.

'Davnet' (the phonetic pronunciation of Damhnait) might not reach the heady heights of some of the radio friendly pop tunes from Shaye's 'The Bridge', such as "Happy Baby", but it does blend elements of restrained commercial pop with acoustic country, probably aimed more at roots and country music fans rather than those looking for the next big thing in the pop world. Doyle's country tinged pop (penned by herself and Gordie Sampson, whose production fingerprints are all over the album) is eloquent and soulful, daintily spiked with sweet honesty and a deceptive hint of emotional vulnerability ("Afterglow" and "Another California Song") and then draping her sexy vocals languidly over trailer park domestic carnage ("Every Hit"). Provocative vocal seduction, tempered with unobtrusive sympathetic backing instrumentation, lends an air of credence to the emotional lyrical themes that Doyle plies.

With a glut of female country pop hitting the market, it is refreshing to note that Doyle avoids that freight train juggernaut of the more commercial end of the genre, leaning instead towards a more personal, lo-fi and stripped down approach, possibly due, in part, to funding most of the album herself, rather than bowing to pressure of big label influence, drawing comparisons to fellow Canadian singer/songwriters Sarah Harmer and Emm Gryner.

- June 2006


Footnote: Daimhnait Doyle has toured with Barenaked Ladies, received a string of nominations for the Juno awards (Female Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, Album of the Year, Entertainer of the Year, Best New Solo Artist and Video of the Year). Her first full length album was recorded in 2000, entitled 'Hyperdramatic', available through Amazon in the UK.

*Shaye - In an effort to boost some of their flagging female artists, Doyle's label put together girl trio Shaye, comprising Doyle, Kim Stockwood and Tara MacLean (also known for her appearance in Coyote Ugly as the 'open mic girl'), who released a superb pop album in 2003, 'The Bridge', which spawned a couple of radio hits, including "Happy Baby". Notable guests on 'The Bridge' included Gord Sinclair (Tragically Hip), Jeff Burrows (The Tea Party) and Natalie MacMaster. Sadly, the much anticipated follow-up to 'The Bridge' (and indeed anything recent from the individual members of Shaye) seems to have dried up.



Related links:
Damhnait Doyle web site
Gordie Sampson web site
Shaye web site