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Live Review
by SaschaS
15-12-2004
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| Doves: Sonic beauty as a Chrimbo party |
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Live: Doves
Hammersmith Palais, London
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Doves: stories from cities and lakes
The euphoria of the festive season is approaching its binge-ola but it is hard to imagine anything else existing outside this bubble of melodic tunes tonight. Doves have decided to air some new songs from the Feb-due third album ‘Some Cities’, a reason enough to find ourselves in this venue that was the last place Bauhaus played, back in the Goth day.
Even if one was a total novice to the band’s previous long playing records, it would be very easy to spot new songs as there is no reaction but careful listening to discover what the band’s been up to since ‘The Last Broadcast’. It seems that the new tracks - the set started with ‘Snowden’ [a possible second single]- are the new broadcast, because it is getting very intriguing. And very intricate in a few songs when drums keep an off-beat that stuns the fans.
Armed with complex arrangements that change tempos as if they were listening a bit too much to mid-period Pink Floyd, or latter-day Genesis, as well as some vintage psychedelic, something huge is emerging from within this band that is taking them further away from the open-spaces of the first two albums. ‘Some Cities’ is concerned with urban city-scapes, the spirit of a downtown, the hopes, dreams and disappointments of uptowners and suburbanites.
The rockist approach of the lead-off single from ‘Cities’, ‘Black and White Town’, is offset by pathos that’s always wafted through their songs… Still, it all feels well controlled: the show is presented with confidence, flare and passion but there’s always been that sense of Doves holding back, a bit. They restrain their music from going over the edge and it would be really nice if they let it go mental, once in a while.
Their approach to performing is very low-profile, aside some backdrop projections, most of the lights point outwards, aimed at the audience rather than the performers. It could be that the members reckon not to be up to the pin-up imagery required by the teen-mags and a tad more lights on players wouldn’t be distracting. [But then, such strategy never harmed popularity of Pink Floyd.]
When intros to old favourites are recognized the mood shifts to, miraculously, a party atmosphere. Still, Doves are not a band to party to but listen to be reimbursed with “evoking the changing face of the North of England - you can hear in the music an inner-city grime running through the album, nowhere more so than on the title track with the huge backbreaking rumble of drums that sound like heavy machinery being forcibly dismantled (and guitar line that could almost be early Fall)”, is a quote from the album’s PR. Band apparently set out to achieve that and, on tonight’s evidence, have certainly completed the task.
The ‘Some Cities’ PR’s précis - “their most concise, brutal, driving, beautiful, relentless, solid, brilliant record to date” - applies to tonight’s show as well. Rhapsody in tones, lights and shades.
Last night’s setlist:
‘Snowden’
‘Words’
‘New York’
‘Black And White Town’
‘Sea Song’
‘Sky Starts Falling’
‘Satellites’
‘Caught By The River’
‘Almost Forgot Myself’
‘The Last Broadcast’
‘Darker’
‘Pounding’
‘Where We're Calling From’
‘Ambition’
‘The Cedar Room’
‘Firesuite’
‘There Goes The Fear’
~
The band complete their string of three warm-up dates at Blackpool Empress Ballroom, Blackpool, tomorrow (17 December) before embarking on a full-scale UK tour in the New Year, calling at:
22 February - Corn Exchange, Edinburgh
23 February - Music Hall, Aberdeen
24 February - Academy, Glasgow
26 February - Ulster Hall, Belfast
28 February - Theatre, Dublin
02 March - Colston Hall, Bristol
04 March - Guildhall, Southampton
05 March - University, Cardiff
07 March - University, Exeter
08 March - Dome, Brighton
10 March - Leas Cliff Hall, Folkstone
11 March - UEA, Norwich
12 March - Corn Exchange, Cambridge
29 March - Rock City, Nottingham
30 March - Brixton Academy, London
02 April - University, Leeds
03 April - Northumbria University, Newcastle
04 April - Royal Court, Liverpool
06 April - Apollo, Manchester
08 April - Academy, Birmingham
09 April - Octagon, Sheffield
SaschaS
15-12-2004
Doves’ single ‘Black And White Town’ is released 07 February on Heavenly/EMI
Doves’ album ‘Some Cities’ follows 21 February 2005 on Heavenly/EMI
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