Gentle whispers caress poignant melodies in “The Way of Love.” Crisp guitars collide with a punky beat to form atmospheric grooves in “Loneliness.” The smooth glow of the instrumental harmonies challenges Chris Donohoe for supremacy in “Cut Too Deep.” From the easy-rolling swagger of “Let the Light In” to the ascending melodic charms of “Your Story,” Donohoe’s new EP Let the Light In, Vol. 2 comes packing such a profound simplicity that it’s difficult to resist any of its quaint charismas on the spot.
URL: https://www.chrisdonohoe.com/
Slipping through the cracks of mainstream attention, this singer/songwriter has been quietly developing one of the sharper compositional wits of any I’ve had the chance to review out of the Bay Area underground this year, and he’s giving us nothing but his best looks in this latest release. “Loneliness” and “The Way of Love” touch on self-reflections that “Cut Too Deep” and the title cut would just as soon relate as observations of humankind. There’s a duality to the relationship this artist forms with his audience here that is as personal as it is judgmental, perhaps embodying the spirit of our contemporary politics and social structure better than any other offering out of his scene has.
Donohoe’s vocal is more controlled in “Your Story” and “Loneliness” than it has been in previous showings, and I don’t get the idea that this is because of experience alone. He’s trying to create a feeling of unguardedness in these tracks, and without using too many of the bells and whistles a recording studio grants him, he’s able to do exactly what he set out to for the most part. Grooves are always central to the construction of any given narrative in Let the Light In, Vol. 2, but not in the sense that Donohoe restricts his vocal output to what a tempo will afford his natural skills. He’s pushing himself and his voice just as hard as he ever has, but with a manner of discipline that was largely missing from his earlier work. There’s no debating whether or not he has a lot to get off of his chest in this tracklist – that much is evident even in cursory listening sessions – but instead how much he’s going to express via the lyrics versus the backdrop he sets up for every verse.
There’s no getting around the facts; Chris Donohoe is ready to record a proper follow-up to his 2016 LP In the Way of the Water, and after listening to this extended play and last year’s companion release, it’s hard to understand how mainstream affections have avoided his brand thus far. He’s got such a likable personality in this EP, even when he’s fleshing out some of the more personal statements a singer/songwriter can make from within this context, and without any hesitancy to get in his way, he sounds primed to do just about anything he sets his mind to. Let the Light In, Vol. 2 is good listening no matter how you break it down, and I think pop fans around the globe are going to agree on that this July.
Jodi Marxbury