It’s been a wild couple of years for Connecticut’s current champion. DOA, the third and latest ericdoa studio album, is his first release since a Euphoria soundtrack placement in 2022 that helped his popularity skyrocket and led to plenty of ink spilled regarding him as the “new face of digicore.” On this new LP, the hyperpop and digital staples that helped him earn that title in the first place fade into the background. Nonetheless, the music all-around is just as impactful.
On DOA, ericdoa Provides Plenty of Material for Long-time Fans…
Though cited as a central figure in hyperpop, if DOA is your first introduction to ericdoa, there’s a stark similarity in vocal style to Juice WRLD that pops up a ton throughout this project. That sort of emo-adjacent, emotions-on-your-sleeve performance is the true throughline of all these tracks. On “arm and a leg” and “crisis actor,” the resulting music plays pretty straightforward—pining lyrics and melodies by ericdoa that complement equally striking instrumentation. Where the intrigue comes into play with this album is in the moments where it gets contradictory.
Though the singer is again pretty reliable in terms of the sentiments he’s expressing, he musically jumps around a bit. “dancinwithsomebawdy” and “imcoolimgoodimstraight” present as retro pop songs, relying heavily on ’80s synths to create a bubbly atmosphere despite the lyrical content. In this realm, eric is perhaps unsurprisingly right at home, and the hooks he lays over both are addictive.
…And Enough Experimentation To Keep Things Plenty Interesting
Then there’s the one-two punch towards the beginning of the LP, “paystub” and “kickstand.” The latter, released as a single last year, is a clear standout here for multiple reasons. First is in eric’s delivery. He puts the crooning cadence featured on the rest of the songs to the side. Instead, he opts for a syrupy register that leans closer towards the hip-hop side of things.
The beats behind him respond in kind, sounding like they’re ripped from either Yeat or 100 gecs, depending on who you ask. Either way, glitchy, extremely digital SFX work themselves into the mix. They ilustrate exactly why it’s so difficult to place eric in one distinct genre. For its part, “paystub” sees the singer adopt a much more boastful and confident demeanor on mic: “I ain’t freinds with no one / If he lackin and we catch him / Guaranteed that we gon’ throw some.”
Three albums in, DOA illustrates that ericdoa is comfortable enough with what he’s accomplished to play around with his signature sound. The material featured here bodes well for his future. It shows tons of different styles he can iterate on as his career progresses. You can find “DOA” on all streaming platforms now.
