Single Premiere: Clare Doyle, “Devices”
The debut single from this rising Minneapolis singer-songwriter delivers dark insights about addiction with energy and attitude. Hear it first here!
Clare Doyle “Devices” single artwork.
We’re thrilled to present the exclusive premiere of Clare Doyle’s first single, “Devices,” before it drops tomorrow, Friday, May 19!
Doyle’s been making music her entire life, but country music really took hold in college, when she started teaching herself guitar. “I dove waaay into country music. Loretta Lynn was definitely a gateway drug—there was nothing I’d heard before that resonated quite as much as badass female country singers.”
It seemed like music would be her natural path back then. “I spent a summer with my best friend at her college in Tennessee and played my first show at the only bar in the town of Monteagle,” Doyle says. “I was fully hooked and started thinking about moving to Nashville. But some combination of my own shitty inner voice and some shitty people around me got into my head, and I convinced myself I had no business making music. So I quit writing, and stuck to playing covers in my living room for the next decade.”
It wasn’t until the pandemic lockdown gave her time to re-evaluate that Doyle decided to make music a priority again. In 2021, when she moved from New Orleans back to Minnesota, Doyle began writing songs. Over the past year she’s quickly become a fixture on the Twin Cities music scene, sharing bills with both rising and established Americana acts. “It’s been a crazy ride!” she says. “I’m very much still recovering my artistic self, but it’s blown my mind how welcoming and supportive this music community is—it’s been so cool and joyful to connect with people through music.”
Playing live, Doyle connects with audiences too, not just fellow artists. Heads turn and rooms get quieter when she starts to play. Her voice—clear and sweet but with an edge that bespeaks the pain of hard-won knowledge—draws you in, but it’s her songwriting that keeps you engaged. A lot of artists cite Jason Isbell and Ruston Kelly as their main inspirations, but rarely do you hear the attention to detail and knack for describing emotions that prove they’ve really learned from those two master storytellers. With Doyle, you can tell.
Clare Doyle. Photo credit: Liam Flahive.
The Single
Doyle initially envisioned “Devices” as a solo acoustic number; she’s been performing that way more often than with a band. The opening notes make it seem like that’s the way it’s going, but then the song bursts into full country rocker mode complete with drums and a swaggering electric guitar riff by Dan Lowinger.
The lyrics vividly tell of chasing highs and finding temporary solutions—whether drugs or lovers—to fill the void or mask pain: “I’m as high as a holy roller speaking tongues to the shadows in my room / And the answer’s up above me, I got one more line and nothing to lose.”
“When I wrote ‘Devices’ I was thinking about my own experiences with addiction, about my relationship with the things I used to numb out—the way that any ‘fix’ is sparkly and shiny and sexy and enticing until it’s kicking your ass and you haven’t actually fixed anything and probably just made it worse,” Doyle explains.
“But I’ve since realized that the song is about a more universal feeling: wanting or needing to escape, tap out, fill a void, and being at the mercy of that feeling. The lyrics are a little dark but also a little cheeky, and I think the energy and attitude of the recorded track creates a more playful vibe, almost poking fun at the absurdity of being in that cycle.”
Listen to “Devices” today!
Upcoming Shows
Sat, May 20, 8PM at Terminal Bar, Minneapolis
With Michael Gay
Thu, May 25, 9:30PM at 331 Club, Minneapolis
Minneapolis Songwriter Rounds
Sun, May 28, 11AM at Icehouse, Minneapolis
Rootsy Brunch w/ Vlad Messing & Friends
Thu, June 8, 7PM at Turf Club, Saint Paul
With Ty Pow and the Holy North & Maria and the Coins
Sat, June 10, 8PM at Dusty's Bar NE, Minneapolis
With The Union Suits
Song Credits
Recorded at Flood Zone (Sean Hoffman) & The Patch Studios (Tom Rasulo)
Clare Doyle - lead & background vocals
Sean Hoffman - bass and drums
Dan Lowinger - electric guitar
Mixed by Tom Rasulo
Mastered by Chris Bethea
Carol Roth. Photo credit: Dan Lee.
Carol Roth is a full-time marketing copywriter and the primary music journalist and social media publicist for Adventures in Americana. In addition to studying the guitar and songwriting, Carol writes self-proclaimed “trashy” novels under the pseudonym T.A. Berkeley!
