The Doves
albums
enhance sound, pulsating rhythms, and nice melodies. The Doves sound like nothing you've ever heard before:
atmospheric, employing electronics sometimes to enhance sound, pulsating rhythms, and nice melodies. One
might argue that all bands have this, but the Doves have a spark, and something that gets your attention. It
cannot be explained in words though, only in music. "Sea Song", "Melody Calls", "Words", "Satellites", "Some
Cities", "Almost Forgot Myself"; while these songs have titles that sound "drifty", that does not begin to describe
them. The Doves sound sweet but foreboding, like a messenger of the end of the world saying "it's gonna be
ok, but it is coming, so be ready." Maybe that is too gloomy a definition, but really that is what I think of, and it is
easy/fun to get lost in each album. You always know what to expect from The Doves, and while it usually
involves greatness, it ALWAYS involves a sonic journey.
Band Members: Jimi Goodwin - bass, vocals
Jez Williams - guitar, vocals
Andy Williams - drums
Best Album: The Last Broadcast
Biggest Influences: King Crimson, Radiohead, My Bloody Valentine
2000
Lost Souls - 6/8
Then first Doves album is atmospheric alright, but something else at the same time. It takes you on a new
spin to the dark world the band in habits, and don't get me wrong, this world is fairly easy to get into, but it is
way more then the "oh man, this is stoner music!" I'm sure the band currently gets. Lost Souls has some really
killer songs, and those songs overpower the weaker songs while simultaneously powering up the album itself.
Sound confusing? You would seriously have to listen to this album all the way through to get what I'm saying.
There is never more than two great songs in a row so just be ready for that, the flow is always interrupted by a
weaker song. Oh well though, I'm doing a lot of bickering over an album I really do like. "Sea Song" and "Here it
Comes" give birth to a new kind of trippyness, while "Catch the Sun" and "The Cedar Room" show off the
poppier side of the band while never losing complexity. "Melody Calls" is not only the best song on here, but a
perfect pop song, and truly one of my all time favs. The Doves create an interesting comparison to fellow
Englishmen Coldplay, where the Doves have a far superior originality but a very similar sound, it will be
interesting to track these two bands throughout the decade, and both bands will be among the most popular.
Misfires like "Lost Souls", "Break me Gently", and the Calexico sound-alike "The Man who Told Everything"
aside, the high points of Lost Souls point to a great future for a band that can definitely write some great music.
Ahh the atmosphere! - Trevor e.y.
1.firesuite- 3
2.here it comes- 4
3.break me gently- 2
4.sea song- 4
5.rise- 3
6.lost souls- 1
7.melody calls- 4 *
8.catch the sun- 4
9.the man who told everything- 2
10.the cedar room- 4
11.reprise- gf
12.a house- 2
2002
The Last Broadcast - 7/8
The band tightens up for a more consistent set this time around, and creates a minor masterpiece with their
second album. The Last Broadcast is very similar to the last record in sound, but there is a renewed sense of
confidence present. You can hear it in the lyrics to the first song "Words", "words, they mean nothing, so you
can't hurt me." Though that is the best song on here, the rest are nothing to sneer at, and "Satellites", "Caught
by the River" and "Friday's Dust" match anything on the previous album, and add some emotion. "Pounding"
describes that song with the title, because that is exactly what it sounds like; "M62 Song" samples King
Crimson's "Moonchild" to great use (you know, by only using the FIRST part of the song). There really is not
much wrong with this record, even though "The Sulfur Man" and "The Last Broadcast" are kinda lame, they are
not that bad (why is the title track always the worst song on the record?). A lot of people pick "There Goes the
Fear" as the best song on here, but to me it is too long and repeatative at six-and-a-half minutes, though not
bad. Like "N.Y.", you just have to be in the mood. If you are in the mood for some atmospheric pop music done
in a unique way though, this album tops the bands first, and who knows where they will go from here.
- Trevor e.y.
1.intro- gf
2.words- 4
3.there goes the fear- 3
4.m62 song- 4
5.where we're calling from- gf
6.n.y.- 3
7.satellites- 4
8.friday's dust- 4
9.pounding- 4
10.the last broadcast- 2
11.the sulfur man- 2
12.caught by the river- 4
2005
Some Cities - 5/8
Unfortunately, the band decided to go "pop" all the way for this record. Easy to tell in two ways if a band is
trying to go mainstream: 1) The production is polished to the max. Check. 2) The best songs are stuck at the
beginning in a lure to the consumer to buy the album, and hence not as much thought is put into the album as a
whole so it is less consistent. Check again. Bands like U2 use this strategy all the time to disguise the fact that
most of the album was just made to backup the singles (not that I don't like U2; they are a good band). It makes
me mad the Doves have done this, though honestly, the album is not THAT bad. Yeah, the first three songs
rock the hell out of you and make you feel like the band is still evolving, but each song just descends in to more
and more blandness until you just wanna turn the damn thing off. "One of These Days" is a good example of a
song that chugs along endlessly with no purpose; "Someday Soon" has a good ending, but the majority sucks;
"Shadows of Salford" tries to be the "soft ballad" the band has on every record so far, and fails. "Sky Starts
falling" is good though, but not enough to redeem the album at this point. Kind of ironic that a song called
"Ambition" ends the album that is not ambitious at all, but instead very normal and disappointing, and why does
it end with thirty seconds of silence? Screw that. If the band wants to remain great, it needs to give the audience
its full attention on the next album, and hopefully it will. Die hard fans might still wanna get this though, but its
average to the core. - Trevor e.y.
1.some cities- 4
2.black and white town- 4
3.almost forgot myself- 4
4.snowden- 3
5.the strom- 3
6.walk on fire- 2
7.one of these days- 2
8.someday soon- 2
9.shadows of salford- 1
10.sky starts falling- 4
11.ambition- 1
 |  |  |  |  |
