Doves
Lost Souls
Astralwerks
Release Date: 2001
What do you do when your electronic band's entire studio burns down? Regroup and put out a great brit pop record! After a fire and a complete sound makeover, the doves have proven themselves to be much more like a phoenix than like their namesake bird of choice. About, brothers Jez and Andy Williams and Jimi Goodwin made some waves as a slow dub/ambient outfit known as Sub Sub, and even managed to often be compared to the likes of heavy weights Sabres of Paradise and the Orb. But, once the word of mouth buzz finally brought the act some attention, tradegy struck, burning their studio, their equipment, and their masters. So like a…dove from the fire, the three re-grouped, and found that there was another sound they had to explore. And as "Melody Calls" suggests, the melodies just kept comin' around.
On Lost Souls, the doves capture and meld the essence of both the world of British pop and that of electronic music aesthetics. With a long swirling instrumental breaks and codas, tracks like "Break Me Gently" and "Sea Song" recall the early 90s sounds shoe-gazers like the My Bloody Valentine, the Verve and Ride. But even though these songs might easily fit in the oldmadchester/baggy scene or a Johnny Marr song book, these tracks aren't simply nostalgia. On "firesuite" and "The Cedar Room", the layers and sounds mix and shift smoothly, creating space and textures that are completely absent from today's newest next big Brits. The Lost Souls delivers a natural progression from acts like the Charlatans and Primal Scream, bringing the electronic mindset into the British rock arena. While the Travises and the Coldplays of the world recycle one sound, Lost Souls resurrects the sounds of yesterday, without forgetting about today.
-- Miguel Banuelos
banuelos@outersound.com
