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Doves – Some Cities
With their third proper album (not counting a b-sides comp), Manchester’s Doves continue to prove themselves worthy of carrying on the tradition of great music originating from Northern England.
Some Cities starts off on a surprisingly un-Dovesish note with the crunchy title track immediately followed by the Motown stomp of lead single, “Black And White Town”. For a band that made their name with atmospheric and anthemic songs like “The Cedar Room” and “There Goes The Fear”, these compact pop nuggets are a bit of a departure. From there, however, the album wanders back into more familiar territory with songs like “Snowden” and “Walk In Fire” providing the gorgeous melancholy that fans expect. Penultimate track “Sky Starts Falling” provides one last blast of foot-stomping rock before giving way to the reverb-drenched “Ambition”, recorded in a Benedictine Monastery and sounding quite heavenly for it.
For whatever reason and for all its strengths, Some Cities doesn’t hang together quite as cohesively as its predecessors did, sounding more like a collection of songs than an album, but it’s also more of a grower and may yet further reveal itself in time. Either way, it remains a good listen and a worthy addition to the discography of one of the UK’s best bands going.
Doves and Mercury Rev play the Kool Haus on May 16, tickets $25.75 at Rotate This, Sonic Temple and Ticketmaster.