Doves - 'Black & White Town' (Heavenly)
3/5
By: Kevin Molloy
Doves have never been the band we've chosen to cut our ears off with noise, but even what sharpness they have developed they're certainly choosing to discard.
Two successful albums down and a third done and on the way we might say our Mancunian trio are getting comfy. But whilst they've lost that initial, inaugural edge, blunt instruments can cause just as much damage as the sharp ones. This is formulaic, but never dull; warm and fuzzy chords cycle just how you want them to, the drums never feel the need to stray from just happily banging in time, and the low bassy grumble follows the chords just as willingly. The secret weapon that's still kept shining here is Jimi Goodwin's vocals, just cutting through all that cloudy instrumentation with the distinction of a veteran crooner, yet never straying far from your mate with the half-decent voice.
The best thing, then, is that the Doves have handed in their finesse for much broader swipe at the charts, and should find themselves coming out on top for it. It'd be nice to see something a little more adventurous on the LP... but to be quite honest, at this point, we'd enjoy an album-full just like this nearly as much.
Artists in this article: Doves
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