Average Metacritic score 71 (28 reviews):


http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/11418.html

Doves
Some Cities (Capital)
US Release Date: March 1, 2005


Of course it�s not a concept album per se, but it certainly carries a central theme; alienation, recourse to old ways and a general state of detachment. It can be sensed purely in their geographical song titles; from Snowden to Salford. Musically too, the band have settled into a firmly established path of post-Northern Soul hubris, with single �Black And White Town� being the ultimate distillation of this.

Yet the band haven�t sunk into mere musical formalities: The Goodwins & co. have used �Some Cities� to push themselves to the limits of their musical remit. See how the beautiful, keening guitars of �Almost Forgot Myself� show that Doves can match stadium rockers ballad for ballad. Yet the operatic grandeur levelled by the earthiness of lyrical content � �Hey man, can you help me out?� of �Snowden� twists the question on those who doubt � who can match this?

Some of the radio-friendly oompa of �The Last Broadcast� has been cut back, and the new record bears more resemblance to their debut �Lost Souls� in its ashen-faced detachment and bloodied-yet-unbowed pride. There is �Walk In Fire� though, which uses the same tricks as the last album�s �There Goes The Fear� to create a euphoric explosion of emotions. It�s a very good trick. The refined grandeur of �Sky Start Falling�, with its stop-start, slowly building enormity, matches it in skyscraping presence too.

All the time though, there�s mournfulness, a gravitas that offers recourse to glib coffee table CD adjustment. Doves require an emotional investment. Doubtless to say, it�s a rewarding, if draining one. Songs like the sparse, gentle �Someday Soon� and the ghostly lullaby of �Shadows of Salford� are remorseless yet engrossing offerings; a hard shell with a damaged centre...

Rating: 9 Stars
Words: Michaela Annot

"Black And White Town" is a brilliant song. The album is solid, and I enjoy it when I listen to it. Hasn't stuck to me like The Last Broadcast.

fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinally an album worth posting about Bee.

agree with Sketch that it hasn't stayed with me like TLB, but overall, it's an excellent album with some of their finest work [Almost Forgot Myself, Snowden, Sky Stars Falling].

Yeah, I put it aside too quickly for sure. It's been a go to album around the house when I don't know what to put on. I still like Lost Souls the best, but I think this is a great album.

almost forgot myself is one of the best songs of the year.

I really like the song "Black and White Town" but I find the rest of the album to be pretty boring. This album goes into the same category as Coldplay, Snow Patrol and Travis - great harmonies, pleasant songs, easy to listen to but nothing jumps out. If you like this style of music, you'll probably like Some Cities. If you're as bored with it as I am, you'll probably find it dull.

yeah -> Black and White Town is a great song...however the rest of the album is meh for me.....plus the singer's lisp drives me nuts

Black And White Town is one of my favorites of the year. The rest of the album doesn't excite me much, but I've only listened through completely about four times, probably.

same response, maybe a couple more listens.

I don't love it, but I dont hate it. I enjoy it. Its just kinda there.

i was looking forward to this album more than any other in 2005 and was incredibly disappointed with it in the month after its release. not even "black and white town" grabbed my attention at all. i went back to it over the summer and still didn't care for it much. it's basically been sitting on my shelf waiting to land on my "2005 disappointments" pile.

in the past month, though, i've put it on a couple times and actually didn't mind listening to it. i'm halfway to coming around on the singles ("black and white town", "snowden", "sky starts falling"), but am still not placing it anywhere even close to lost souls or the last broadcast. i even skipped seeing them this past fall when i had two chances. maybe this is going to be a very slow grower for me, but i love what else they've released, so i'm going to keep giving it chances.

loved it from the first listen.

top 20 for me.

Funny, I think this is the least interesting one so far.

Has only a few moments through the entire record that distinguishes it as anything more than pleasant audio wallpaper.
A big letdown after The Last Broadcast. I keep giving it "one more try" but it just doesn't stick.

i was just listening to this album this morning on the way to work. possible contender for my top 20. i remember i was loving it so much when it first came out and thought it would be my #1, but not so much anymore.

walk in fire, someday soon, and almost forgot myself are my favorite tracks.

I think this a pretty respectable release for the guys. It's hovering at about #9 on my top 20 of 2005 list. One of These Days is an excellent song to blare on the car stereo.

Interesting story about this CD for me is that it was basically the album that convinced me digital is now the best way to purchase music. I went to the independent store on the day of it's release and they were asking 17.99 for it. No fucking way I said. Went to Circuit City and Best Buy and they didn't have it. Drove back to the first store and begrudgingly paid the cash. Came home and realized I should have bought it from iTunes.

I should preface this with the fact that I've only listened to this album 4 or 5 times, but...........

This one is neck and neck with Beck for my biggest disappointment of '05. Lost Souls and Last Broadcast are probably both in my top 300 albums ever, so this was a letdown.

Not terrible, but definitely gets an emphatic "meh" from me. It almost certainly suffers from the greatness of their previous two albums, though.

After thinking about it for a while, I'm pretty sure that this is my favorite album of the year. Just a whole bunch of really good songs on it, like Snowden and Almost Forgot Myself and Walk in Fire and so on.