Doves
Some Cities
(Capitol)
Some Cities mixes the soundtrack quality of Doves’ largely instrumental first album with the pop structure of the second, bringing an immediacy to the songs as well as a melancholy emotional core. The first half is the best—the title track opens with a potency that could blow away anything by Coldplay. “Black and White Town” recalls a ’60s Motown hit and “Snowden” uses string samples and rolling drums to maximum effect. Doves prove again why they are one of the UK’s best groups of songbirds.
—Johnston Farrow
This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.