Doves - 'The Last Broadcast' (Heavenly)
4/5
By: Toby L
'I get up - when I'm down,' bellows the current single from Oasis, fellow Mancunians to the three-piece Doves, who return with this, 'The Last Broadcast', their first LP for quite some time. However, whereas the brothers Gallagher pose for a more optimistic, albeit hardly intellectual, subject-matter in their latest rock 'n' roll frolics, the brothers Williams (plus Goodwin) are going for the more contemplative and downbeat affair, choosing to wallow in their experiences of lost love, lost souls and lost good times... But, boy, does it make for an intriguing and moving listen.
As demonstrated on their astounding debut-LP of 2000, which went on to sell in excess of 150,000 copies, the trio have endeavoured to produce musical-content of the most surging and vibrant nature, largely dealing in documenting pained emotion, yet successfully never to the extent of transcending beyond that most dangerous of borders: mere self-indulgence. The theme of 'TLB' is basically running alongside such a concept, though it's clear that the dynamics Doves have enabled to produce such material ensures a more experimental and exciting experience than before.
The record opens gloriously, via an instrumental 'Intro', which serves as a stirring pre-cursor to the album's immediate stand-out moments, 'Words' - reassuringly, not a cover of the BeeGees' track - and recent single, 'There Goes The Fear', whose touching vocals and 'Think of me when you're coming down' refrain are the most beautiful and epic moments on the overall recording. Aside from these, though, you may find yourself falling in love with the mild rocky riffage of 'NY', their most raucous track to date, which still maintains the inimitable un-OTT edge that you'll by now have fallen in love with.
Another striking aspect of this 12-track release - most of the tracks solely produced by the three musicians that you listen to throughout - is its potential commercial-appeal. Admittedly, there's little to fault in past singles-efforts such as 'The Cedar Room' or 'Catch The Sun', but compare them to the likes of such fine specimens as 'Pounding' and it doesn't take an Albarn to realise that the group's impact this year on the mainstream could be quite extraordinary.
But, it's not about chart-positions, maaaan: it's about qua-la-tee. Shining particularly strongly in such a department are the closing moments of the aural-splendour - the soothing and compelling 'The Sulphur Man' and 'Caught By The River'. Only a tribute to King Crimson's 'Moonchild', several elements of which are effectively borrowed in the form of 'M62 Song', gets more touchingly beautiful.
The overall state inflicted on the listener once the record finishes is a refreshing and unusual sensation of extreme and possibly mellow, calmed satisfaction. Doves may have named this triumph 'The Last Broadcast' - but it would be a terrible shame if this title was truly to be the case.
Artists in this article: Doves
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