Doves

     With all due respect to White Stripes, my favorite band of the '00's is Doves. They are a trio from Manchester, England who I would describe as a little less weird Radiohead. If there were any justice, the door that Coldplay opened to the States would have brought in Doves, Elbow and Kasabian. However, we got Keane, Susan Boyle and One Direction. The band consists of Jimi Goodwin and brothers Andy and Jez Williams. They began in the 80's and 90's as a club band called SubSub. In 1998 they became Doves and their sound has been defined by insistent guitars and drums and atmospheric effects.
     I can remember the first time I heard Doves. When my 14 years old daughter was two she woke up in the middle of the night and I got up with her. I turned on the TV while I rocked her back to sleep and put on MTV 2. The video for "Catch the Sun" came on and the next day I went to work and ordered Lost Souls. To this day, "Catch the Sun" is one of my favorite songs and encapsulates how I felt growing up in a rural town. I have never been to the UK, but it seems like I've been to Manchester just from listening to Lost Souls. When you listen to this album, you can almost smell the sea air and hear the waves against the docks and the seabirds as they circle overhead. Doves main themes then, and even now, are the water and escaping.
     Their subsequent albums are also quite good. Their biggest hit is probably "There Goes the Fear" from the critically acclaimed Last Broadcast, which ironically is my least favorite, but still good, Doves album. I can't list all my favorite songs in the space of this blog, but among them are Black and White Town, Snowden, Here It Comes and Winter Hill. I really should try to write a book about Doves. Someone in the UK probabaly already has though.
     I have pretty much everything by them that you can get in the States, including a 10" single of "There Goes the Fear". I would recommend that my kids listen to Lost Souls and The Places Between, which is a best of collection with a music video DVD. If you aren't familiar with Doves please check them out. They are an amazing band. They are currently on hiatus, but hopefully they will begin recording again soon.