''DOA'' is the third studio album by American musician

Ericdoa Eric George Lopez, known professionally as ericdoa (stylized in all lowercase), is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known as one of the main artists in the hyperpop/ digicore genres of music. Career Lopez was born ...

, released on January 19, 2024, by Listen to the Kids and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

. The album was supported by three singles, "Kickstand", "Dancinwithsomebawdy", and "Sweet Tooth".

Background

The album's aesthetic was inspired by

Puerto Rican culture The culture of Puerto Rico is the result of a number of internal and indigenous influences, both past and present. Modern cultural manifestations showcase the island's rich history and help create an identity that is uniquely Puerto Rican - Taí ...

, specifically the

Young Lords The Young Lords, also known as the Young Lords Organization (YLO), were a left-wing political organization that originally developed from a Chicago street gang. With major branches in Chicago and New York City, they were known for their direct act ...

. Ericdoa was also inspired by the music of artists including

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is a British singer and songwriter. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Re ...

, and

Willie Colón William Anthony Colón Román (born April 28, 1950) is a Puerto Rican and American Salsa musician and social activist. He began his career as a trombonist but also sings, writes, produces and acts. Colón was a pioneer of Salsa music and a be ...

. The album's cover artwork was inspired by a woman selling clothing that he met in

Bushwick, Brooklyn Bushwick is a neighborhood in the northern part of the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by the neighborhood of Ridgewood, Queens, to the northeast; Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Williamsburg to the northwest; ...

who "embodied the selfless maternal spirit" of Latin women.

Release

On March 4, 2023, Ericdoa released a single in collaboration with

Riot Games Riot Games, Inc. is an American video game developer, publisher, and esports tournament organizer based in Los Angeles. It was founded in September 2006 by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill to develop ''League of Legends'' and went on to develop ...

, ">One - Greater Than One", the theme for the ''

Valorant ''Valorant'' is a 2020 First-person shooter, first-person tactical shooter, tactical hero shooter video game developed and published by Riot Games. A free-to-play game, ''Valorant'' takes inspiration from the ''Counter-Strike'' series, borrow ...

'' character Gekko. On September 22, 2023, the album's lead single, "Kickstand", was released, alongside a music video. Ericdoa also announced the "Dead on Arrival Tour" with singer Bixby in support of the album. The tour began on January 25, 2024 in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

and concluded on March 9, 2024 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. The album's second single, "Dancinwithsomebawdy" was released on November 3, 2023, alongside a music video. Ericdoa released the album's third single on December 15, 2023, titled "Sweet Tooth". The album released on January 19, 2024. In promotion of the album, Ericdoa conducted a livestream of a two hour long freestyle. A line from the freestyle, "Imagine if

Ninja A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...

got a low taper fade", became an

internet meme An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...

, receiving over 17 million views.

Critical reception

Otis Robinson's review for ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' described the album as a "restless and electrifying" mix of genres including

emo Emo () is a genre of rock music characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of hardcore punk and from the Washington, D.C., hardcore scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore. The bands ...

hyperpop Hyperpop (sometimes called bubblegum bass) is a loosely defined electronic music movement and microgenre that predominantly originated during the early 2010s in the United Kingdom. It is characterised by an exaggerated or maximalist take on p ...

, trap,

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

, and

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...

. Alessandra Rincon of

Ones to Watch Ones to Watch is an American music blog primarily aimed at showcasing new talent. The website was created independently by House of Blues Entertainment (a division of Live Nation Entertainment) in October 2013, before becoming a collaborative ...

wrote that the album sounded "abrasive, raw, and direct without sacrificing an ounce of the frivolous, spirited, and party-ready atmosphere at the core of it all." Writing for '' Dork'', Martyn Young described the album as a "fevered rush through everything that makes his music thrilling" that "sounds abrasive, raw and direct but also sounds frivolous, ebullient and party-ready at the same time."

Track listing

Note * signifies an additional producer

Personnel

Musicians *

– vocals (all tracks); instrumentation, programming (tracks 2, 5, 6);

acoustic bass guitar The acoustic bass guitar (sometimes shortened to acoustic bass or initialized ABG) is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually larger than, a steel-string acoustic guitar. Like the traditional electric bass guitar ...

(6) * Dœgægé – instrumentation (track 1) * Glasear –instrumentation, programming (tracks 2, 8) * Mochila – instrumentation, programming (tracks 2, 8) * Gray Toomey – instrumentation, programming (track 2) * Steve Giron – bass, drums, guitar, percussion, synthesizer (track 4) * Morris – instrumentation, programming (track 5) * Synthetic – instrumentation, programming (track 5) * Zetra – programming (tracks 7, 8), instrumentation (8) * Aaron Shadrow – guitar (track 7) * Jondren – guitar, programming (track 7) * Distance Decay – instrumentation, programming (track 8) * Noah Breakfast – guitar (track 9) * Two Inch Punch – programming (track 9) Technical * Jeremie Inhaber – mixing * Ruari O'Flaherty – mastering * John Ong –

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

(track 2) * Ericdoa – engineering (track 10)

References

{{authority control 2024 albums Interscope Records albums Ericdoa albums