Doves
- Some Cities
By Eric Bodrero
The Doves return with another studio album,
and instead of continuing their track record of consistently great music,
they live up to their namesake by merely cooing their way by.
For the most part, the tracks here lack
any sort of wow factor found in their previous records, with many of the
songs being a dull mix of murky, droning atmospherics and long, drawn out
instrumentals that lack the opportunistic approach that Lost Souls
and The Last Broadcast took.
However, the few tracks that are decent
here really are good, sounding like studio outtakes from the last record.
Unfortunately, these tracks are nestled in-between songs that sound like
b-side outtakes, and are ultimately left unforgettable at best. One such
example of decency is “Walk In Fire”, which opens with a nice guitar lick,
then adds in a pleasant thumping drumbeat, and continues in layered instrumentals
and harmonic bellowing from front man Jimi Goodwin with the kind of climax
heard on “Caught By The River” and “Satellites” from The Last Broadcast.
Other notable tracks include “Almost Forgot
Myself” and “Snowden”, which are two tracks that help save this album from
its inevitable slide into insignificance, while “One Of These Days” helps
remind me of why I like the Doves so much in the first place.
However, it sounds like the Doves have
chosen to bypass any opportunity to shoot this album into any sort of epic
proportions, and there certainly were opportunities. Take for instance
the closer “Ambition.” It had the potential for greatness: floating guitars,
an ethereal atmosphere, and some great songwriting; practically begging
for a grand climax. But instead it turns out to be dull, flat, drawn out,
and full of barely audible guitars, another forgettable track with no substance.
This wouldn’t have been a big deal had the rest of the album been phenomenal.
Having said that, most Doves fans will
probably shout praises from the top of a mountain, as has been evident
in the U.K, where Some Cities shot to number one on the music charts
upon its release. The record is far from a complete loss, but ends up being
one of those “skip the salad to get to the meat” kinds of albums. Not the
worst from the Doves, but nowhere close to their best.
Doves
- Some Cities
Label: Capitol
Rating: 
Tracks:
1. Some Cities
2. Black And White Town
3. Almost Forgot Myself
4. Snowden
5. Storm, The
6. Walk In Fire
7. One Of These Days
8. Someday Soon
9. Shadows Of Salford
10. Sky Starts Falling
11. Ambition
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