Doves - Constellations For the Lonely ( 2025 )

     Is it selfish to have expectations, and desires of your favorite artists. I've railed in the past at RUSH fans who were angry with Neil Peart for having the audacity to not want to be in a touring rock band anymore, even after giving them 40 years of brilliant music. They complained he wouldn't interact with the fans or put on a fake, dog and pony show for them. Yet, I'm having difficulty extending the same grace to Doves' Jimi Goodwin. I've never seen them live and probably never will. Doves released The Universal Want in 2020, after an eleven year hiatus and promptly cancelled their upcoming tour because Jimi wasn't mentally up to performing. Fast forward to last year, Doves announced on social media they had finished recording a new album. Surely they were ready to get back in the game. Maybe they would tour the States. But no. Late last year, the band announced a few "intimate" shows, and that Jimi would not be performing with them. They have since added more shows, but Jimi isn't going to tour due to mental health issues. So, even if they eventually come to the States for some dates I probably won't go see them.

     I went back and listened to The Universal Want again and it sounds like a band making a return to form after eleven years. I've streamed Constellations For the Lonely a few times and I get a sense of closure. It sounds like a career bookend; a Lost Souls 2.0. Musically, that's not a bad thing. I quite like it so far, but there are no bombastic rockers like "Prisoners" or "Broken Eyes" from their previous record. It's a sparse album about trying to cope in these unsettling times. Of the 10 tracks, Jimi takes the lead vocal on six. The guitars are atmospheric and the drums minimal. On the album closer, "Southern Bell", when Jimi asks "are these our last days" or "the last stand in our story" does he mean the World or the band. 

     Constellations For the Lonely is full of cryptic references to this being their last record, but I will never say never. As a fan, I wish they had recorded  more than six studio albums in 25 years, but the music they have given us has made this life more enjoyable. I will always remember being up in the middle of the night with my daughter, turning on MTV 2, and seeing the video for "Catch the Sun". I've been a die-hard ever since. I hope Jimi can find peace with himself. I'm trying to accept the fact he doesn't owe me or fans of the band anything else. We're all just trying to cope. Peace.