Doves - Kingdom of Rust

Fri 1st May, 2009 in Music Reviews

When Doves released the track Jetstream from their upcoming fourth studio album on their website in March this year, I was a little miffed. Surely there were better teasers than that on an LP four years in the making? Although at times it does sound a lot like Steve Miller’s Fly Like an Eagle. The plodding, pounding (if I may) soundscapes that Doves create form the signature their contemporaries Elbow never quite emulated.

The evergreen Doves from Wilmslow, Cheshire, saved the inspired portion of Kingdom of Rust until the release date instead. They’ve recaptured some of what made 2000’s debut Lost Souls so invigorating. Other stellar tunes such as Black and White Town, Snowden and There Goes the Fear spring to mind; particularly mid-record, where vocalist and bassist Jimi Goodwin uses his vocals against instead of in harmony with other instruments (see The Outsiders ).

Recorded on a Cheshire farm close to home, the eerie, rain-soaked themes that swept underneath second album The Last Broadcast (2002) are revisited, and can be heard in the gorgeous arrangements on the fairytale-like title track. Left toward the end, House of Mirrors is a wickedly-crackly lament of suburban living, melded with the wondrous sing-along choruses that make driving to Doves so perfect. I swear I tried to avoid the comparison as much as possible, however Spellbound and Lifelines are very Coldplay; only much better. Everyman Jimi captures the concepts of obsession without bordering on soppy, and the relaxed drumming from Andy Williams makes it a pleasure to listen to.

Birds Fly Backwards ventures into Beach Boys territory and Compulsion – albeit oddly out of place within the album – is a sexy bass-slink into disco floor grit. It’s an added bonus to the soaring atmospheres painted by the unshaven Mancs. This track allows Jez Williams to truly shine, picking up exactly where Catch the Sun left off.

Kingdom of Rust is demonstrative of a band at its peak, where Goodwin and the Williams’ sheer professionalism lifts them a head and some hefty shoulders above the Elbows of this world. Hail.

Kingdom Of Rust is out now on Heavenly through EMI.