Ah, Doves… I never used to understand quite why everyone raved about them. Sure, they were good and yes ‘Black and White Town’ was a very good song indeed, but they never quite seemed to gel with me. Maybe it was subconscious… I’ve never been a huge fan of most of the big groups from the North west (I’d go so far as to say I disliked the Smiths and I can’t stand most of Morrissey’s solo work), but for whatever reason it just didn’t quite set me on fire. So, it was with some trepidation that I clicked play on these tracks. Suffice it to say that I was very, very wrong indeed. This is a band on top of it’s game, one who have mastered everything they’ve set themselves to. This is an epic, widescreen album… the kind U2 used to make before Bono became too full of his own PR. They still talk of their home, but now they render it, through word and melody, into a movie unfolding between the listeners ears and played out on the big screen in the back of the head! From the frantic drums of ‘Jetstream’ through to the simply stunning ‘Birds Flew Backwards’, a song that shows the full glory of Jimi Goodwin’s voice, this is an album to treasure. This is, to put it bluntly, the album where a group of boys with talent and lofty ideas became a trio of men at the top of their game. I’m not sure the band can ever better this, but frankly, I’m not sure there are many other band who could either!Â
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A very, very lovely album. My favourite of theirs is Lost Souls, by far.
It is, indeed a lovely album… my favourite so far. Lost Souls is very good though, I agree