Doves
Kingdom Of Rust

Ladies and Gentlemen, here is the most underrated band in England: the Doves. A band that truly has reaped only a quarter of what it has sown over the years, from 2000 (the release date of the fantastic "Lost Souls") to today, 2009, the year they release their new effort, "Kingdom Of Rust."

In between, two other good works like "The Last Broadcast" and "Some Cities", which failed to project the Williams brothers' band into the Olympus of the brit-rock stars, a fortune that instead befell the (for me) overrated Coldplay.

Creators of an evocative brit-rock, steeped in nocturnal psychedelia and occasionally showing muscle, the band delivered their best work at the start. The debut "Lost Souls" completely bewitched me: it had been years since such a perfect blend of melody and airy and fascinating instrumental passages was heard. And the songs. "Rise", "Catch The Sun", "The Man Who Told Everything", but especially one of the most beautiful songs ever written in rock: "The Cedar Room". It starts with a Gilmourian guitar phrasing that captivates until it explodes into a chorus of stinging emotion, giving chills even today.

After the two aforementioned good works, we finally arrive at their latest effort. I must say that the previous "Some Cities" was, in my opinion, the weak point of their career. With "Kingdom Of Rust", the Doves raise their heads. An ambitious work, which especially at the beginning offers no points of reference: if indeed a criticism often leveled at them has been being too uniform, the album opens with three tracks stylistically very different from each other: "Jetstream" is an electro-rock gallop, the Title-Track, with well-placed acoustic guitars, has a bucolic flavor reminiscent of the latest more pop works of Akron Family, and the following "The Outsiders" is solidly rock, with a distorted bass line taking the lead. With "Winter Hill", a classic Doves-song, an irresistibly catchy refrain emerges, with Goodwin's bass again in the forefront. Then there's the fantastic instrumental opening of "10:03": a controlled explosion of each instrument, reminiscent of early Motorpsycho. The album proceeds without any real digressions (except for the derivative and already heard "Compulsion"), until "Spellbound", an irresistible rock gallop reminiscent of the aforementioned "Catch The Sun". In general, I feel I can say that, except for some passages (especially the delicate "Birds Flew Backwards"), this is their most rock album. Always maintaining their "arty" approach that makes the structure of the tracks mobile and unpredictable.

Ultimately, an album to have. Along with Elbow and the immortal Manics, the Doves confirm themselves as a solid and worldwide stature band. Let's support them.