Manchester's Doves have been creating Brit rock with a spacey atmospheric tinge for over a decade now. The band's new album, Kingdom of Rust hits stores today, is the latest installment.
With the exception of "The Outsiders", which sounds like Vanishing Point-era Primal Scream, there's very little on the album that differs or builds on what we've come to expect from Doves. The trio are still making atmospheric rock with a slightly electronic bent while adding orchestral arrangements. The difference this time is that those orchestrals end up making the record sound more like Coldplay than Doves.
That's nothing new from the band, and it actually makes one wonder why they bothered to make this album at all. We've heard it from them before. In fact, we've heard it better from them before.
Songs like "Winter Hill" and "Jetstream" are little more than rehashed and watered down version of "There Goes The Fear". "10:03" has some redeeming bombast, and the title track does have a strong orchestral movement, however, the pay-off takes too long to come and is underwhelming because of it.
The soundscapes on Kingdom of Rust are never quite as grand or breath-taking as I'm sure Doves had envisioned.
Best tracks: "Kingdom of Rust", "The Outsiders"
Track listing for Kingdom of Rust:
- Jetstream
- Kingdom of Rust
- The Outsiders
- Winter Hill
- 10:03
- The Great Denier
- Birds Flew Backwards
- Spellbound
- Compulsion
- House of Mirrors
- Lifelines
4.0/10
1 praise/complaints:
Definitely sounds like you've only listened once. A shame, really, as this is another brilliant addition to the Doves canon. I hope you will recant your words soon.
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