Kingdom of Rust [PA]

Performer: Doves
Engineer: Will Hensley; Adam Whitaker; Dan Austin; Michael Brauer; Jez Williams
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Doves: Andy Williams, Jez Williams, Jimi Goodwin. Arranger: Tom Rowlands. More than four full years after Doves' well-received 2005 album, SOME CITIES, the British alternative-rock band finally returned with a follow-up studio outing, KINGDOM OF RUST. Like its fellow Manchester-based peer Elbow, the group is remarkably consistent in its output, and this album is no different, with the time-honored Doves aesthetic of moody, majestic music unquestionably intact (see the expansive title track). Originally formed in the 1990s as the techno act Sub Sub, the trio does nod to its club-friendly past a bit more than usual on the pulsing opener, "Jetstream," and the slinky "Compulsion," but it also leaves room for pensive, subdued tunes such as "Winter Hill" and "Birds Flew Backwards." Dynamic while never sounding forcefully eclectic, RUST is the sound of Doves once again taking flight to impressive effect.

Rolling Stone (p.70) - 3 stars out of 5 - "Doves deliver gorgeous, sonically adventurous tunes dappled with strings, droning guitars, Radiohead-ish atmospherics and singer Jimi Goodwin's longing tales..." Spin (p.78) - "[I]t's all about the melancholy rafter-reaching, like Coldplay on their darkest day. The title track chugs menacingly before swelling into a sunlit chorus..." Alternative Press (p.121) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Their trademark melancholic tunes are intact, while 'The Outsiders' proves the downer dudes can actually kick out a jam." Pitchfork (Website) - "[Doves have an] unwavering flair for producing mountainous, Wembley-worthy pop anthems that are nonetheless invested with a palpable degree of grace and humility." Clash (magazine) (p.111) - "Early suspicions of greatness are confirmed...with the rebellious 'The Outsiders' with its piercing thunderous bass, followed by 'Winter Hill,' which suitably brims with Doves' trademark soundscape largesse."

The members of the early-2000s Britpop sensations Doves started out playing Manchester-inspired dance music in the '90s under the name Sub Sub (and had a smash dance hit, "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)") before reinventing themselves as shoegazer-influenced rockers with their 2000 debut album LOST SOULS, which was widely embraced in the U.K. The followup, 2002's THE LAST BROADCAST, and its ultra-hooky opening single and British smash "There Goes the Fear," saw Doves breaking through to the rest of the world.

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