Doves - Some Cities

Genre rock Publisher Capitol Records External Links Capitol Records

Changing directions from the fevered experimentation of The Last Broadcast, with its dalliances in world sounds, to a more intimate, claustrophobic even, sound, Doves take a serious step backwards. The band started out making lush and moody tracks loaded with atmosphere, and built upon that for their 2002 sophomore release, resulting in an album that had a steady hand, yet a sense of abandon structurally as well.

Scaling the instrumentation way back this time around, and sticking with a sound that at best can be described as "functional malaise," the band comes off as dour old sods. Being morose isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the band doesn't have their hearts in it enough to convince us that things are really that bad.

Even if they had gone back to the sounds found on Lost Souls, the album would be the better for it. At least there the band had a clear idea on how to make songs with some power, as evidenced on the single, "Catch the Sun." But on Some Cities, lead singer Jimi Goodwin flits about moaning like a stuck pig, no more gratingly so then on "Shadows of Salford," where his voice is augmented electronically to near nauseating effect..

Thank God, then, for "Black and White Town," which, while it nicks the beat and piano refrain from Martha Reeves' "Heat Wave" outright, furthermore, unapologetically, it is at least up tempo and features a playfulness sorely lacking on the rest of the album.

Praise should also go to the band for the album's best track, "Sky Starts Falling." The song's drum beat is irresistible, and finds the band thankfully energetic. Perhaps they had gotten their 8 hours the night before?

Doves' music up to this point has been quite a treat, maybe time is what is needed for this album to blossom. Perhaps its one of those releases that one needs to go back to after a lengthy time apart, making the heart grow fonder for it. But for right now it's nothing more than a sorrow filled disappointment. Doves and I just need to be on a break from one another right now.