‘Springs Eternal’ is the latest missive from William Doyle, the Bournemouth electronic (and occasionally ambient) producer also known for a time as East India Youth. It finds this tender soul in diverse spirits, delivering a record of impressive versatility, if not always solid gold songwriting.
A good example of this imbalance is Soft to the Touch, a nimble waltz using cruise ship drum patches and lilting synth waves. Doyle skilfully layers his vocals and the result is a distinctive and attractive reverie that is also a bit forgettable.
Elsewhere, Surrender Yourself is a snaking shuffler with Radiohead (or possibly The Smile) energy and catchy guitar lines. The problem here (and always the danger with sounding a bit like Radiohead) is that the basic music and production can look pretty mediocre by comparison.
A Short Illness is also unconvincing. The song opens with Doyle singing plainly over a simple piano motif — his lack of affectation in singing is hypnotic on one level and a tiresome on another.
This track actually dances onto the high wire of chamber pop, the domain of the Divine Comedy and Randy Newman, and tumbles off. It brings to bear a certain luvvie quality to the music which grates when it should entertain.
The best track is Now In Motion, which blends a pop groove with a catchy melody and lots of musical progressions, ending in a kind of Europop disco. But, once again, it is a bit of a tonal head scratcher as the first half sounds like a decent pop song, while the outro sounds like a live version that closes out a concert. As track two on the album, it feels odd.
It’s difficult to know quite what to make of ‘Springs Eternal’. This is an impressive album made by a very talented musician but it doesn’t seem to connect with a lot of its targets, and its emotional core is profoundly uneven. It suggests that pop music is not really Doyle’s true forte and that ambient soundscapes and soundtracks might be a better home for his skills.
William Doyle Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Tue March 19 2024 - BRIGHTON Alphabet
Wed March 20 2024 - CAMBRIDGE Portland Arms
Thu March 21 2024 - MARGATE Where Else?
Sun March 24 2024 - MANCHESTER Deaf Institute
Wed March 27 2024 - NOTTINGHAM Bodega Social
Thu March 28 2024 - EDINBURGH Sneaky Pete's
Fri March 29 2024 - LEEDS Wardrobe
Sat March 30 2024 - KENDAL Can Yam Brew Co
Wed April 03 2024 - LONDON Lafayette, London
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