Doves
Constellations For The Lonely
★★★★
EMI
Doves’ last album, The Universal Want, arrived after a decade-long hiatus that had threatened to look permanent. Landing a comparatively swift five years later, frontman Jimi Goodwin’s ongoing health issues meant that much of Constellations For The Lonely was recorded without him, and while lyrically the album frequently dwells upon isolation and estrangement (“If you walk out that door then you’re walking out forever,” Goodwin sings on opener Renegade, a Blade Runner-inspired update of 2005’s Black And White Town), musically, the trio sound more robust than ever.
There’s a cinematic sense of scale to the likes of Cold Dreaming, In The Butterfly House’s fluttering arpeggios trace similar patterns to In Rainbows-era Radiohead, while bombastic closer Southern Bell even bears the unlikely influence of Queen. Due to the circumstances, guitarist Jez Williams takes the lead on more tracks than is customary, including gorgeous, Smiths-referencing highlight Last Year’s Man. But despite a difficult incubation, Doves soar here.
Constellations For The Lonely is out February 28 on EMI.
ORDER: Amazon | Rough Trade | HMV
Tracklisting
Renegade
Cold Dreaming
In The Butterfly House
Strange Weather
A Drop In The Ocean
Last Year’s Man
Stupid Schemes
Saint Teresa
Orlando
Southern Bell
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