[A quick note: No, this blog isn't dead. It's not even technically on hiatus! But the fact that it's taken me three weeks to write this rather brief concert review pretty much explains why there hasn't been a post here in two months: sheer laziness.]
It’s a little embarrassing to admit that this was my first Doves concert. I’ve counted the band amongst my favorites since I picked up their first album, Lost Souls, back in 2001 (about a year after it came out), and they’ve come through town several times since then. But I’ve always managed to miss them, thanks to then-girlfriends, overseas travel, and (ahem) not getting around to buying tickets before they sold out. So it was great to finally see them after all this time.
To be honest, though, I was somewhat dubious of Doves as a live act. The band’s origin as dance group Sub Sub, along with their meticulously constructed albums, suggested a group that was more comfortable laboring in a secluded studio, rather than a live band that knew how to put on a show. But my fears were unfounded — not only did the band (supplemented by a keyboard player) do an impressive job of recreating the complexities of their recordings on stage, but they showed a looseness and sense of fun that was entirely unexpected in a band whose records are usually so dour. How they managed to do both things at once — retain the songs’ epic scope while also investing them with a bit of ragged vitality — I have no idea, but it made for a great show.
Not surprisingly, tracks off the recent Kingdom of Rust dominated the set, starting off with the spectacular “Jetstream”. About half the main set came off the album, and all the songs came off quite well. The rest of the set pulled off their other three albums, but sadly my personal favorite, Lost Souls, got the short end of the setlist: “Rise” showed up early, but that was it until the encore, when they played “Firesuite” and “Here It Comes” back-to-back. The absence of “The Cedar Room” and “Catch The Sun” saddened me a fair bit, but obviously you can’t expect a band to play your nine year old favorites just because you couldn’t be bothered to catch them live in a more timely manner — and anyway I love Kingdom and wouldn’t have really minded if they just played the album end-to-end and called it a night.
Honestly, I can’t really think of anything to complain about from the show. They sounded great, I had a blast, and I hope they hit San Francisco again soon.
Kingdom of Rust, the new Doves album (out next week!), has finally leaked. I got a copy off a co-worker this morning, and have been listening to it all day. It sounds fucking awesome, so much more vital than Some Cities (which some swear by, but I found to be a let-down after the first two albums), while losing none of the band’s atmosphere and scope. Listening to it on the bus ride home this evening, it made Turk Street feel even more forlorn and bleak than usual. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea for Doves to disappear for four years after all.
I’m really, really excited about this record — and for once, it looks like my anticipation may not be in vain. I also downloaded the new Pet Shop Boys today, so we’ll see what I think of that.
Yet another Doves remix to download — this one is a remix of “Kingdom Of Rust”, courtesy of the NME from a week or so ago. (As a bonus, the NME also posted that Sub Sub video. They seemed a lot less somber in those days.) The remix is very electronic, cutting out most everything except the vocals, and burying all traces of the original version’s hooks — and in the process taking out much of the emotional punch. Kind of monotonous, actually. But what the hell, it’s not like they’re not giving it to us for free, right?
Speaking of Doves, picked up my tickets to see them in May at the Fillmore. Yay me!
Stereogum put up a new Doves track yesterday. It’s not off Kingdom of Rust, but instead is a dancefloor remix of b-side “Push Me On” by “British electroclash act” Playgroup. And as Stereogum says: “it basically works”. Though to be honest, I’m a bit puzzled by Stereogum’s surprise over a dance remix of a Doves song, given the group’s background in dance music. For myself, I like the remix, don’t love it, but I also haven’t heard the original version.
Still struggling to get back to some sort of regular posting schedule, but here are a few random news bits ….
Doves have announced a North American tour in May and June to support their new album, Kingdom Of Rust (out April 7th). They’re playing the Fillmore in S.F. on May 18th, and since I’ve managed to miss them on both of their last two US tours (and any previous tours, of which I am unaware) I really better get my ass to this one.
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart are also launching a US tour, but since they’re spending half of it camped out in Austin, and the other half on the East Coast — before departing for a lengthy jaunt around Europe — fuck ‘em.
And this is something I’ve been meaning to post a link to for weeks, but did you know that Saint Etienne’s Bob Stanley wrote a Bee Gees record review for Pitchfork? They’ve referred to him as a staff writer a couple times since then, so maybe Pitchfork will be marginally less insufferable for the immediate future.
Oh boy! Via Stereogum, the video for “Kingdom Of Rust”, the title track off the fourth Doves album. The first few seconds confused me a bit — what the fuck is this, a sea shanty?!? — but nope, it’s definitely another Doves epic. A good one, based on two listens.
Nothing cohesive tonight, but I do have a couple quick notes:
A reader left a link in comments a link to a recording of that Thorns Of Life show at 924 Gilman on the 31st. A really good recording, too, excellent sound. Big thanks!
Pitchfork (who, to be honest, I don’t have that much use for these days) posted a great interview with Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne the other day. Well worth the read (and good to hear that those 2xCD reissues of all their albums are still in the works!).
“Jetstream”, the Doves track that was released at the end of January as a teaser for their forthcoming album Kingdom of Rust, has been in heavy rotation around here, and still sounds freakin’ awesome. The song’s only shortcoming is that, after building up the tension over its course, it doesn’t really resolve it at the end. But it is the album opener, and given how impeccably sequenced Doves albums generally are, I’m guessing that the next track will provide the tension release. Easily the album I’m looking forward to the most right now.
I stumbled on the 1999 album Portable Audio Science by Japanese shoegaze band Honeydip on Shoegazeralive, and have been listening to the second track, “Jesus & Mary Jane”, over and over (one of these days I might even give track #3 a try!). Worth checking out if you’re into My Bloody Valentine-style guitar drone.
So, the new Doves album finally has a name, Kingdom of Rust (which happens to be the same name as the first single off the album). This is by far my most anticipated album of the year. It’s out on April 6th and I can’t wait.
If you can’t wait that long, you can sign up for the band’s mailing list off their homepage and download an MP3 of the album’s first cut, “Jetstream”. Or so I’m told … I signed up over a half hour ago and still haven’t received the sign up confirmation email, so I tracked the song down elsewhere on the Internet.
So how does it sound? Awesome. A pulsing insistent electric beat over the band’s usual atmospheric soundscapes. You can really hear the band’s background in dance music here, with the slow build-up in intensity over the course of the song until the guitars finally show up in earnest in the last minute. Man I can’t wait for this fucking album.
5 December 2008 at 10:12 pm
· Filed under Music ·Tagged Britpop, Doves
The Doves are probably my favorite Britpop band currently recording, but I haven’t really written about them on this blog because it seems like it’s been forever since their last album (actually 2005, which is close enough). But via Stereogum, we get this link to a short article in Billboard where the Jimi Goodwin talks a bit about their fourth album, as yet untitled but “nearly complete” and set for release in April. The first single will be called “Kingdom Of Rust”, and is described by Goodwin as “country-ish”. The article also talks a bit about why it took so long to make the album.
I’ll confess that I wasn’t as into their last album, Some Cities, as their first two (this appears to be a minority opinion). But Lost Souls is still a huge favorite of mine, and sort of feels like the last great album of epic late 90’s Britpop, before the British indie scene radically shifted itself in the wake of the Strokes. Which is to say, that I’m really excited about them coming out with something new.
Now, if they’ll just make it over to the US to tour next year ….
, as their first two (this appears to be a minority opinion). But 