Sometimes Austin’s music scene feels like a double-edged sword. Any night of the week, you can find a quality live music experience, but in a market this saturated, difficulty arises in knowing how to sift through the vast number of bands and artists. Further, for every band that works their way into the public spotlight, even at the local level, half a dozen other incredibly talented artists exist who are busy making music for a smaller audience of knowing patrons who keep an ear to the tracks that run on the periphery of the music scene. Enter Daniel Francis Doyle.
If you’re a patron of Austin live music and don’t know the name, you may recognize names such as Mirror Travel, Yellow Fever, Deep Time, Red Hunter, or Peter and the Wolf–all artists Doyle has worked and performed with and alongside over the years. Doyle’s music has its own distinct style and emerges as markedly divergent from contemporary patterns even within the alternative or obscure corners of independent music. Simple, repetitive lyricism defines the quirky songs, but earnest and overt truths rest just beneath the surface.
If you were to break down the complex mixture that comprises Daniel Francis Doyle’s newest songs, the recipe card might read something like this: equal parts Talking Heads and Devo, a dash of Morrissey, a splash of lo-fi pop, two drops Austin music scene, and the drink would definitely be shaken, never stirred. Musically and rhythmically, odd 80s rock is at the forefront, but there are moments of vocally driven melodies that recall the aforementioned Smiths frontman or, more contemporarily Jens Lekman or Stuart Murdoch. And there’s a definite sense that Doyle’s music owes something, something elusive, to the artists that surround him. But in listening to his songs, you’ll undoubtedly have the feeling that it’s a sound you haven’t heard before.
Look no further to experience that sound as we bring you several songs that Doyle has recently recorded with his band, The Dreams. The songs will be available on a self-released CD-R, and what better place to pick up this sort of DIY product than at a local show? For that, you have two opportunities in the immediate future: a show Saturday night in Tillery Park as part of the East Austin Studio as well as a show at Cheer Up Charlie’s next Wednesday, November 20th. Take either of the above links for full info on those shows and stream several songs by Doyle below. Head to his site here for more tracks from his newest self-released CD-R.
