I'm listening to The Places Between: Best of Doves right now and really enjoying it. Every time I listen to these guys I always wonder why they aren't bigger and more known? They seem competely overshadowed by what came before them (Radiohead, Britpop) and by contemporaries like Coldplay and Muse. Is this just my USA perception? Are they bigger in UK? What do other members think of these guys?
Love 'em..Especially the first two records..I saw them on every tour. Kind of felt they mailed it in on the last record.
Great Band-I have the best of with the DVD along with Lost Souls and Some Cities but I think they had to struggle to get Kingdom of Rust out so it may be some time before we see new material from them.
Definitely underrated, even to some extent in the UK, where they have at least been commercially successful, if the gorgeous Lost Souls, one of my favourites of the early 2000s, is any indication - here's what I wrote about them in a thread about music that sounds like Pink Floyd: Their debut Lost Souls shares much of the characteristics of the 70s Pink Floyd sound, with its ambient and spacious soundscapes, meticulously detailed arrangements and polished production, symphonic clearly album-oriented construction, long instrumental passages and predominantly melancholy mood not without its uplifting moments; the murky under-water vocals in "Rise" are very reminiscent of a lot of Animals. But they also have a style very much their own, combining Brian Eno-style atmospherics with a Britpoppy tunefulness and the 90s house style of their previous incarnation as the dance band Sub Sub. I've also been singing its praises here. Also, some very nice commentary here: seems I'm not the only one in the UK who thinks they're underappreciated whilst the likes of Coldplay, Elbow, Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys etc get all the attention/accolades: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2011/sep/07/favourite-album-lost-souls-doves
The first album is superb. In actual fact I haven't listened to it in ages and this has now prompted me to go get it out.
I like them - some of their material can be blandly "epic" in the Coldplay/Elbow/Editors/late period Floyd mode, but when they're good they're very very good. When a track like "Catch the Sun" comes up on the iPod I have to listen to it at least twice before moving on. My introduction to them was "Sea Song", which was featured on one of those Uncut comps around the turn of the millennium, and I've tracked them across their first three albums.
I agree with the others who say the first two albums of theirs are the best. In fact, both compete with any of the more commercial albums from that era. The last broadcast album is a masterpiece IMO.
Another Doves fan here. Lost Souls is my favorite album, but The Last Broadcast is a very close second. Great pop music.
I really like the band, but for me they're an example of a band that hit their peak with their first album and have yet to equal it. Even the B-side collection from that album "Lost Sides" (the original promo, not the later commercial release) is head and shoulders above the rest of their discography. I think they lost their way a bit with Some Cities but I did like Kingdom of Rust quite a bit too. I think if they'd been around just a few years earlier they'd have been considered amongst the bigger "Brit-pop" bands.
Amazing band...saw them twice in 2005 when I was still living in Chicago. Would kill to see them again, but I doubt they'll ever come anywhere near me again, assuming they even get back together. Some of their records were better than others, but I consider all 4 of their albums to be really unique, and incredibly enjoyable.
I was just blasting them in the car yesterday! I moved from Minneapolis to NYC in April 2000 and had a magazine sampler with "Rise" on it. Listening to that song always brings back strong memories of that time. There's too many good songs to name here!!
I loved, loved, loved the first album, but each since has been a slide in quality. Still an "automatic buy" for me, though.
Some Cities is hit or miss imho.. Snowden is one of my top five Doves song..I saw them open with it in Baltimore a few years ago and blew me away..KOR I haven't listened to since I bought it.
I arrived to the Doves game a little late but agree that the first two albums are fantastic and the second two are still very respectable. I was able to find the two disc version of Lost Sides for a very reasonable price and it has some amazing material on it. I hope they record again because I'd love to see them live.
Thanks for posting that link. Like many who posted here I find the debut to be their best it does pack a huge emotional punch without ever feeling forced or unnatural. I'm a huge fan of PF and didn't really connect the dots there - that is interesting. I do hear New Order, Verve and Stone Roses influences. I am pleased to see there is love on here for Doves and hope we will get a 5th album. For those that haven't kept up, there is one new song on the best of I mentioned, plus several rarities on the bonus disc. A third disc with promo videos came with my copy and the whole thing came to about $15. Not sure if this collection was limited but it is worth tracking down even if you have the 4 main albums.
You know, I was thinking that even though I found Some Cities ultimately lacking, it still contains two of my Doves faves, 'Walk in the Fire' & 'Almost Forgot Myself', plus a couple of other strong tracks.
Love Doves! Saw them back in the day with My Morming Jacket as the opening act! What a night that was! Lost Souls and Last Broadcast are both brilliant from beginning to end!
