Kingdom of Rust
Doves
Score:78
Reviewer: Ed Butler
Label: Heavenly (UK), Astralwerks (USA), Virgin (Australia)
Reviewed: Apr 8th '09, Released:2009
Doves have rarely strayed far from the mainstream. Rather, they’ve taken the standard template for Brit-rock in the 21st century and added their own stylistic flourishes and production nous to improve it. So, when Doves unveiled ‘Jetstream’– a pseudo-futuristic piece of electroclash written as fictional closing credits for Blade Runner – on their website in January, speculation was rife. Is this the album where the Doves seriously shake the template?
That the answer is ‘no’ is really little surprise. ‘Jetstream’, marvellous piece of 80s white-man dance that it is (incidentally, it would indeed have made an excellent closer for Ridley Scott’s classic), would still be a fairly standard piece of Doves rock were it to be stripped of its skittering beats.
None of this is to suggest that Doves’ gradual progression has been halted on Kingdom of Rust in favour of submission to wider public tastes. As a band they have always demonstrated a love of slow and steady growth and this continues on their most recent release. After the rich melancholy of debut Lost Souls, they added stadium bombast and thudding rhythms to follow-up The Last Broadcast. Then, three years later, Some Cities introduced elements of Motown and blues to an already dense sound. Now, Kingdom of Rust introduces elements of country and prog-rock, fusing sounds and styles that only a band with their production skills can really pull off.
Despite some forays into semi-experimentation, the album’s strongest moments are also undeniably the most conventional. ‘Winter Hill’ and ‘Spellbound’, while remaining polite, epic rock, are majestic, sweeping examples of what Doves do best. It isn’t hard to imagine both becoming regular highlights of the band’s already excellent live shows.
Additions to the band’s sound aside, this remains at heart a very traditional Doves album. They wander far enough from the path most travelled to give their songs the kind of edge that many of their contemporaries lack. While Doves may never reinvent the wheel, they’ll make damn sure that they’re sporting a fine set of tyres every time they hit the road.
