TJ Doyle’s “Lullaby”

TJ Doyle’s “Lullaby” was released this past May to a positive reception from the singer/songwriter’s longtime fans and supporters, but a recent surge in critical interest in the track has given it a second life even stronger than its first this fall. Sporting a top of the line production quality and a swaggering vocal from Doyle, “Lullaby” is a simple, earthy folk song with an electrified pop finish, but it doesn’t play out as a throwback to 70s soundscapes at all. On the contrary, this is progressive-minded, thoroughly contemporary acoustic rock single that works as well for fans of the old school as it does the new.

The percussion in this track is spellbinding from the moment that it first enters the fold to the second that it evaporates into the air around us. Drummer David Raven is as responsible for the magic in the rhythm section as Doyle himself is, and through his patterned pulsations, we gain access to an additional layer of emotionality in this composition that (more likely than not) would not have been as accessible to us were it stylized with a different beat. Every element in this track is key to its charisma, and that can’t be said with a lot of today’s pop music.

SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/tjdoylemusic/lullabysingle

This mix is polished, but not so much that we get an artificial vibe. There’s still a raw, homespun quality to the arrangement of the instruments, and you could even describe the underlying bass tones as being a bit abrasive in comparison to the other working components in “Lullaby,” but none of that really matters when we get down to brass tacks. At the end of the day, this is as solid a folk/pop number as you can come by in 2019, and no amount of augmentation – positive or negative – could change the appeal of its sterling harmonies.

Love songs will never go out of the style, but there’s something really special about what TJ Doyle is saying in his single “Lullaby,” and I hope that it isn’t the last time that he broaches the subject in his career as a musician. He’s got an amazing way with words and melodies, and if he’s going to continue making singles that are as honest and open-hearted as this one is, I can only imagine his status in the underground growing more impeccable as the years go by. A marvelous addition to the autumn soundtrack, “Lullaby” is a great song from a deeply talented composer.

Nicole Killian