Release Date: Feb 28, 2025
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock
Record label: EMI North
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A crowning achievement, realising their anthemic potential through songs that sharply reflect the times of composition Thrilled with the reception to The Universal Want in 2020, Doves immediately started work on a follow-up. That it took five years for the record to be released is an illustration of just how difficult it became to complete. In 2022 the group imploded, vocalist Jimi Goodwin taking extended time out to deal with addiction and subsequent mental health issues.
Fans of northwestern British band Doves--who were nominated twice for the coveted Mercury Prize in the early 2000s--are surely devastated by news of frontman Jimi Goodwin's mental health issues recently sidelining him from their first performances since 2019. The silver lining: he sounds as strong as ever on Doves' new LP, Constellations for the Lonely. What's more, guitarist Jez Williams and his brother, drummer Andy Williams, hold their own as lead singers on many of these new songs.
Doves’ sixth album is one many feared would never happen. After the release of The Universal Want (2020), they were set to go on tour the following year, but their plans were thwarted. It wasn’t the pandemic that hindered them; rather, frontman and bassist Jimi Goodwin struggled with his mental health and was recovering from substance abuse.
Doves' music has stood the test of time. Today, they stand as legendary purveyors of catchy melancholic tunes. An impeccable sound still charming 25 years after the release of their seminal 2000 debut 'Lost Souls'. The Manchester trio - formed of Jimi Goodwin, plus brother Jez Williams and Andy Williams - have long held a curious position in the British indie world since.
Nothing ever seems to come easy for Doves. The veteran Mancunian trio have enjoyed plenty of success across 25 years as premier purveyors of soulful, deceptively euphoric yet downhearted dance-tinged indie rock - three of their five albums have reached No 1, including 2020's comeback album The Universal Want. But they seem resolutely dogged by a certain misfortune.
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