Damhnait Doyle
Country of origin:
Canada
Type of music generally:
Pop/rock
Status:
Most recent release "6 Feet Under" (single, 2020); most recent album, Liquor Store Flowers (2019)
See also:
Damhnait Doyle's Bandcamp siteWikipedia's entry for Damhnait Doyle
AllMusic's info on Damhnait Doyle
Side projects include Shaye (band with Kim Stockwood and Tara MacLean) and The Heartbroken
Comparisons:
Sarah McLachlan, Tara MacLean
Covers/own material:
Co-writes songs, some covers, occasional traditional material
General comments:
Her name is pronounced "Dav-nit", and she's from Newfoundland. She was recommended to me by someone who knows I like female singers. And not recommended by me to you. I find her songwriting weak and her vocals average at best. (carnivore@bigfoot.com)Damhnait Doyle has a pretty voice; unfortunately most of her material, while it's not actually bad is unremarkable and you can't remember the songs the instant they're over. There are moments where she sounds terribly Sarah McLachlan-ish. She's obviously got some vocal talent, but isn't great at writing or choosing material. I'd like to hear what she could do with some songs that actually had hooks—actually, I have: she does a great version of "As I Roved Out". Maybe she should do an album of traditional covers? (Neile)
Recommended first album:
Sounds like Hyperdramatic is the one to choose
Recordings:
- shadows wake me (1996)
- Hyperdramatic (2000)
- Dav-net (2003)
- Lights Down Low (covers, 2008)
- Liquor Store Flowers (2019)
- 6 Feet Under (single, 2020)
shadows wake me
Release info:
1996—Latitude Records—02 50422
Availability:
Wide in Canada
Ecto priority:
Recommended only for lovers of pop/rock who will care more about her voice than the material
Group members:
Damhnait Doyle—lead vocals, background vocals
Guest artists:
Kathryn Rose—vocals
Toughie Lalande—vocals
Tim Welch—12 & 6 string electric guitars
Ken Myhr—backwards guitar, 6 string guitar, treatments, electric guitar, classical guitar
Jason Sniderman—keyboards
Alisdair Jones—bass
Andy Stochansky—drums, percussion
Rebecca Jenkins—background vocals
Chris Tait—acoustic guitar
Anne Bourne—cello, ambient cello, chamberlain
Gary Breit—hammond organ
Marcus Chonsky—congas
Jeff Bird—tambourine, shaker, octave mandolin, mandolin
Lenny Solomon—first violin & string arrangement
Vera Tarnowsky—second violin
Doug Perry—viola
Wendy Tummon—cello
Michael White—trumpet, conch shell
Produced by:
Ken Myhr
Comments:
This is perfectly pleasant listening. Damhnait Doyle has quite a lovely voice and can belt it out when she needs to. The original song I like best here is "Jumping The Shadows", but the only song on this album that I really love is her cover of the traditional song, "As I roved out"—actually if not for that song I would probably never play this disc. (Neile)on the whole pretty nice stuff that merits some sarah mclachlan comparisons; definitely ectofare. (mjmjminla@yahoo.com)
Hyperdramatic
Release info:
2000—EMI Music Canada—7243-5-20836-2-6
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Recommended
Group members:
Damhnait Doyle—vocals
Kevin Fox—cellos
Guest artists:
Steve Webster—bass
Randy Cooke—drums
Tim Welch, Nick Hynes, Kurt Swinghammer, Mike Borkosky, Basil Chaisson—guitars
Brian West—guitars, solo on "Learn To Crawl"
Dave Hodge—programming, trombone, piano, background vocals, arrangements
Dave Bennett—additional programming
Paul Brundtland—percussion, congas
Tim Foy—viola, violin
Eric Anest—programming
Sarah McElcheran—trumpet
Tuku, Saidha Baba Talibah—background vocals
Dayna Manning—background vocals
Erin Donovan—piano on "Maybe a Son," background vocals
Produced by:
Dave Hodge
Comments:
I like this album quite a bit, and it gets stronger as it goes along. It's pretty straightforward pop/rock, with some e(le)ctronica thrown in. Still, her voice and the atmosphere set it apart from other pop artists, and there are some really catchy songs. Reminds me somewhat of Tara MacLean. I can't compare it to her first album, which I haven't heard, but I do like it enough to look for her debut. (JoAnn Whetsell)
Thanks to JoAnn Whetsell for work on this entry.
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