Was The Album “Dead on Arrival”?

Ericdoa, also known as Dante Red, is a promising up-and-coming musician who just released his latest project: “DOA” on Jan. 19, 2024. Over the past few years, Eric has switched between many styles; from glitchcore and funk to hyperpop, pop, and pop-punk. His latest release demonstrates this genre diversity. 

I first discovered Eric when his album “COA” was released in 2020, with breakout singles like “thingsudo2me,” “2008,” and “deep end”; which received widespread attention. He also released a collaboration project with the musician glaive, titled “then I’ll be happy,” which was a prelude to both his and glaive’s transition from hyperpop to an indie/pop-punk sound. His previous project, “things with wings,” was the final prelude to his modern sound. The album featured angsty tracks like “primadonna,” “first day of summer,” and “lifeline,” all being a blend of either pop-punk, hyperpop, or pop. 

Many of the songs from “DOA” have been teased for a while, including “Paystub,” which was initially teased under his Dante Red alias, and “Kickstand,” which was released last year. Has the wait for the album been worth it, or will “DOA” fail to impress the ridiculously low bar I have for music? 

The first track on the album, “the cake is a lie,” is an absolutely perfect introduction to this project. From the mixing to the overall composition of the track, I was astounded on my first listen. It has a very pop-punk yet fresh feel to it, with hyperpop elements reminiscent of his earlier work. His heavy auto-tuned singing complimented everything extremely well. I loved the chorus of this song as well; I can’t get the lyrics “crisis averted / see now / this part makes me worried / I lied,” out of my head. The production of this song was also perfect; from the mixing and panning on the guitars to the compression on the drums, I couldn’t get enough of it. Overall, I loved this song. I’m going to give it a 10/10.

“dancinwithsomebody” was released earlier than the album itself, but not as its lead single. I’ve had this one on my playlist for a while because of how good it is. The groovy pop-house feel of the whole song puts a smile on my face almost every time the chorus hits. The mixing on the drums brings so much life to the track as a whole, along with the classy use of a slap bass running in the background, perfectly complementing Ericdoa’s voice. Up-and-coming producer Stripes agrees: “[It’s] interesting to me how he incorporated his vocal mixing and pads [sustained sound with long release] to a house beat.” Overall I really enjoyed this song, from its energetic flow to the happy vibe it gives off. 10/10. 

“bigassbearman” is another hit from the album. It’s extremely catchy and has a Kali Uchis, or “Flower Boy”’ by Tyler, The Creator feel to it. I love the title of the song too; it sounds like he didn’t know what to title the file, so he typed in something random and rolled with it. According to Paulo, a Future Bounce producer, the song sounds like “Trippie Redd mixed with Don Toliver over a catchy beat,” which I completely agree with. This one is a solid listen, so I’m going to give it an 8/10. 

“kickstand” is one of my favorites off the album. I love the calm, new jazz beat that Ericdoa picked; it compliments his voice perfectly. The sound choices on this beat were immaculate, and his vocal mix on this song was also perfect. Hearing how professional “kickstand” sounds compared to earlier songs like “sheaskedwhatmylifeislike” shows the amazing growth Eric has had over the years. Even though this song was released earlier than the rest, as a lead single it still holds the same charm as the rest of the album. Overall, 9/10. 

I first heard “paystub” leak under a Dante Red fan account around a year ago, and I was hooked. I love how he kept the same bit-crushed master — or distorted sound — he normally would have if he was releasing the track under his Dante Red alias. “paystub” doesn’t quite fit with the vibe of the rest of the album, since it’s more rap/glitchcore oriented. You can tell he threw it in for the fans. Overall, I would rate this song a 9/10; it’s almost perfect, but his voice gets too quiet and becomes unintelligible at some points.

“lastjune” is such a unique song. It perfectly blends pop and hyperpop with crunchy bass, catchy lyrics, a bittersweet tone, and superb support vocals. This, along with the distortion, boosts the overall power of the song. The chord progressions throughout this song are also amazing. The home chord of the chorus’ progression has such a unique tension when combined with the instruments and layers. Another really good song; I’m going to give it a 9/10. 

“imcoolimgoodimstraight” is the catchiest song on the album. On my first listen I found it pretty generic; but when I played it again the next day, I found myself sucked into this song with no light at the end of the tunnel. I was trapped hearing “Don’t think / we’ll leave / alive / I’m cool / I’m good / I’m straight / I’m fine,” over and over again, unable to knock it out of my head. The instrumental on this song is also immaculate; it almost has a DEVO — band from the 70s — sound to it, but with pop vocals instead of punk. Overall 10/10, crazy good. 

“crisis actor” is not good. I found this song to be extremely generic, with no uniqueness or catchyness to it. Listening to the album for the first time, by this point I was starting to get tired of hearing the same vibe over and over again; it almost felt like a filler song. Super uncreative, and really boring. 6.5/10. 

The last song on the album was “sweet tooth,” and boy was it a lousy finish. This song has the same problem as the previous one: it’s super generic. Although this one was catchier, I still found myself bored on the first listen. I do like the flangey guitars throughout the song, but honestly, they’re booming way too hard throughout the mix, leaving the song cluttered. Overall, a disappointing finish to an album that had such a strong start and middle. 7/10. 

This album as a whole was really strong. It has so much mainstream potential, and I can see Ericdoa becoming a household name in the next 10 years if he stays consistent with this quality of his music. Even though it had a disappointing finish, I would recommend this to someone if they need new music, especially “the cake is a lie.” I’m going to give this project a solid 8.5/10. It had a few misses, but the bangers outweigh them.