A glorious sixth LP by the Manchester indie band, weathering many ups and downs, including ongoing mental health issues for lead vocalist and bass player Jimi Goodwin who is unable to tour, but despite that, summoning a powerful, dynamic, passionate work of darkness and light, and one of the best in the 25 years since their debut, Lost Souls. The Williams brothers Jez and Andy also fill in on vocals, but Goodwin still brings some towering performances, notably the opener Renegade, highlighting the changing cityscape of Manchester. Encroaching digitisation, parenthood and religion, parenthood, religion, heartbreak and existential crises are other themes across the album. Their musical style has an epic grandeur, steeped in emotion and tragedy, an immense sound, not unlike the industrial guitar power of Glasgow contemporaries Mogwai, but decorated with a range of keyboard and orchestral sounds and of course a Mancunian flavour. They’re more often compared to Elbow, but somehow Doves, less dominated by one member in the form of Guy Garvey, always seem to capture deeper emotions and a more integrated sound. While Renegade projects a surreal, semi-dystopian Manchester (“Piccadilly gardens selling dreams on giant screens”), with Goodwin at his best, Cold Dreaming has Williams voice by contrast, more nasal, thinner and higher, but this tremendous track soars with a scale and energy that has echoes of that Minnie Riperton classic of the 1970, Les Fleur. Strange Weather has beautiful psychedelic otherness. A Drop In The Ocean is another dream-like powerful track with Goodwin’s lyrics and vocals: “Of all my past lives / I can’t recall which one/ Or if the feelings real/ Have I been here before?”. There’s a magical otherness filled with raw emotion throughout the album, such as the wistful melancholy and beauty of Last Year’s Man, or culminating in that do-or-die closer, Southern Bell. A very welcome return, fragile and powerful, dark yet filled with a strange hope. Long may they continue. Out on EMI North / Universal.
New to comment? It is quick and easy. You just need to login to Disqus once. All is explained in About/FAQs ...
Whether it’s about this or others, feel free to recommend more new albums and comment below. You can also use the contact page, or find more on social media: Song Bar Twitter, Song Bar Facebook. Song Bar YouTube, and Song Bar Instagram. Please subscribe, follow and share.
Song Bar is non-profit and is simply about sharing great music. We don’t do clickbait or advertisements. Please make any donation to help keep the Bar running.