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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