I’ve just discovered the talented singer-songwriter Joe Doonan and his new EP “before you leave” was such a good find for me. He has a rich vocal tone, but it’s his honest writing and the emotion behind these songs that pulled me in. I had to start with the title track, It’s one of the best songs I’ve heard this year, not only on this EP. The chorus is strong, the melodies are right where they need to be and I loved the lyrics and Joe’s vocal delivery. After that, “’til we find love” came at the right time for me. Its honest lyrics touched me deeply and the delivery and chorus gave the song even more weight.
“hope” is a softer listen with a gentle melody, good performance and production that gives everything enough room. Then there’s “on the run” which has a nice sound, catchy vocals, lyrics and melodies got stuck in my head for hours. The EP gives us a short intro, four songs, and four acoustic versions, so there’s so much here to spend time with. The songs deal with love, loss and what happens when something meaningful between two people ends, but there’s still hope in the story.
Joe has a rich voice and his performance shows how much skill he has as both a writer and singer. I loved spending time with this EP. I’ll definitely be watching where his career goes over the coming months. Joe is on my favorite list now and I’m happy I found his music recently.
