25 years after the release of their debut album ‘Lost Souls’ (still an all-time Top 10 for us), Doves return with ‘Constellations for the Lonely’, a record filled with ten songs that find the band in the role of narrators, offering contemplations on shattered images of a world in flux. Andy Williams, drummer, vocalist and co-songwriter said: ‘We wanted to go for a dystopian feel, thinking about Manchester itself over the next century or so. A totally imaginary thing… ‘Blade Runner’ set in our home city.’
The lead single ‘Renegade’ opens the album in fine style, Jimi’s vocals gliding over the dreamy atmospherics while delivering emotive and poignant lines abut loss: ‘If you walk out that door, than you’re walking away forever’. ‘Cold Dreaming’ follows and takes you into an otherworldly, slightly alien shoegaze-filled space – albeit with some hope at its centre: ‘I can’t live my days in fear’.
There’s more of a bluesy Bartees Strange-style vibe to ‘In the Butterfly House’, a song that about losing your mind and being there for someone: ‘I’m here, forever my love’. ‘Strange Weather’ is a sad song, swathed in synths and military drumming, while ‘A Drop in the Ocean’ opens with angular hooks with an industrial edge as the band pay tribute to the power of family: ‘You’ve always been on my side, you and me against the world’.
‘Last Year’s Man’ is an evocative track where baroque pop meets post rock, while ‘Stupid Schemes’ blends Efterklang-esque hooks with chiming chamber pop melody. ‘Saint Teresa’ has chanted choral group vocals as the trip urge the subject to ‘reach for me’, before ‘Orlando’ veers into a distorted DIY sound reminiscent of Baths. There’s talk of wet weather and how ‘You’re bored on the edge of town, walking the same old ground’, the band really painting a picture of mundane modern life.
The closing ‘Southern Bell’ opens in inwards-looking fashion, perhaps a distant cousin of ‘Lost Souls’ closer ‘A House’. Soon, the guitars are turned up along with some distinct directions: ‘Wake up, it’s morning. Are these our last days?’ This goth-tinged sound ends with a more hopeful message of ‘We’ll never be alone again’.
‘Constellations for the Lonely’ is an album that once again finds Doves reaching for the stars – and providing comfort in a cold, solitary world.
