DOVES
Some Cities
EMI
· What’s the story Edward Gorey?
Doves’ first two full-length CDs (Lost Souls and The Last Broadcast) are Brit-pop soundtracks for the apocalypse – hooky melodies over a haunting, ominous soundscape signalling the end of days. Every time you sing along there’s a feeling in the pit of your stomach that something isn’t quite right. But this time out Doves seem inclined to play it safe in the inspired pathetic fallacy department, simply driving their sound down the middle of the road. The result is less than perfect, but still pretty good.
First the bad news. The title track from Some Cities could’ve easily been left over from Lost Souls, "Black and White Town" rips off the piano line for "Heatwave" by Martha and the Vandellas and "One Of These Days" bears an annoying resemblance to Hotel California, at times. But, no fear – all is not lost; "Snowden," "The Storm" and "Shadows of Salford" are great tunes, reminding us that the end is nigh. And when the end comes, my friends, it is good. The album’s closing track, "Ambition," is possibly the best song Doves have ever written – swimming in reverb and echo, this epitaph to Some Cities is rapturous in its Angelo Badalamenti-inspired grandeur.
3/5
MATTHEW CURRIE HOLMES
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