Eoin Shannon has put together something genuinely interesting with “Highs & Lows,” an album that refuses to stay in one lane. Shannon draws from an eclectic mix of influences such as Bobby Blue Bland, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and somehow makes it all work together. He’s assembled a team of collaborators who each bring something different to the table.
“Where gospel meets gravel and folk kisses the blues, Shannon builds his cathedral of sound.”
“Highs & Lows” deserves all your attention. Tom Savage handles the bulk of the heavy lifting, producing and creating music for ten tracks, and his approach gives the album a cohesive foundation. The arrangements never feel cluttered, which is impressive given the genre-hopping nature of the material. When Malte Hortsmann’s piano work enters on “Happiness Has Come to Town,” it adds exactly the right texture without overwhelming Shannon’s vocals. The addition of Artem Litovchenko’s cello on the same track shows thoughtful attention to detail. Larry Magee’s production work on “The Closer You’re To God” offers a different flavor entirely, proving that Shannon isn’t interested in cookie-cutter approaches.
The collaboration with Zhoca and Romacoolguy on “Pull the Plug/Pull the Curtain” remix shows Shannon’s willingness to take his tracks into uncharted waters. Gaby Duboisjoli’s contributions to “Happiness Has Come to Town” and “Fall into Your Arms Again” feel essential rather than superficial. The blues influence runs deep throughout the album, but Shannon avoids the trap of imitation. His connection to Bobby Blue Bland’s work comes through in the way he approaches rhythm and phrasing, not in copying surface elements. Songs like “Demon Lady” and “One Crazy Day” carry that blues DNA while sounding completely brand-new.
The genre-blending approach could have resulted in a scattered mess, but Shannon and his collaborators have found common ground between rock, alternative, indie folk, gospel, and blues elements. There’s warmth in the production that suits Shannon’s approach to his work, and the different producers involved have maintained consistency in overall sound despite their individual contributions.
“Highs & Lows” succeeds because it sounds like the work of an artist who knows what he wants to say and has found the right people to help him say it. It’s an impressive debut that establishes Shannon as someone worth paying attention to, both as a songwriter and as a collaborator who brings out the best in his fellow musicians.
Muse Chronicle 
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