Because Of You - Kieron McDonald

Kieron McDonald – Because Of You (2025) 

The new EP from KieronMcDonald. I must confess this is a new name in the world of Rock N Roll for me. However, I’m always keen to discover new talent to me & this 4-track EP didn’t disappoint. 

Because Of You – The Lead track of this EP gets us off to a promising start. This is a straight-forward non-nonsense Rockabilly track with basic backing, guitar, base, drums. I detect Sun sound influences here in the playing, production sound, & vocals. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel but that doesn’t stop it being a fine track. It’s a standard song of love, the poor guy can’t eat or sleep because of his new love interest. I love the fact that the track is only just over 2mins long, the length of classic Rockabilly. This means the song sounds fresh & fun, & doesn’t outstay it’s welcome. 

All She Wants To Hear Is Dean Martin – a nice moody rocker here slows the pace down a little. This track has an interesting premise. His girlfriend, though loving Rock N Roll, Boogie, & Rhythm N Blues records, around Midnight she goes all MOR on him & only wants to listen to Dean Martin, particularly That’s Amore. As an admirer of Deno myself, I can see her point & have no problem with her insisting on a bit of crooning. The guy doesn’t seem to mind either, happy to finish what old Deno has started. Clever way of mixing the song title Memories Are Made Of This into the song too. The highlight of this EP for me. 

Exotic Woman – Back to the classic Sun sound here for another Rockabilly tune with a nice 50s style vocal. I can detect influences of Carl Perkins on Sun here, in both the playing & singing. Really nice guitar break. 

At The Bop Hop – The EP closes with a really fun Sun track, over in just shy of 2mins. I would argue that all good Hops have their share of Boppin tunes, but he does make going to the Bop Hop sound rather fun. A fun way to finish an enjoyable EP. 

I really enjoyed this short visit to the world of Kieron McDonald. All the tracks are short & Sweet, & stick to that great basic Rockabilly & RnR sound. Dean Martin is practically the prog-rock track, & even that falls short of 3mins. Look forward to hearing more from this cat.