upon my dad's first visit to London he declared that not even the country's magnanimous intellectual revolutions of the past could repudiate the way all the streets seemed bruised from the pounding rain or how the sky perpetually refused to unfurl its sullen, grey blanket. he absolutely hated it and never wanted to return. but of course that begs the question as to why anyone would live in England at all if the environment could only breed a collective fettered by unshakable torpor. it's because some people--actually, quite a few people--like that cold, incorrigible country. between the deluges and overcast days people actually birth ideas, feelings, and beliefs which become heavier than any meteorological event. The Doves' Jimi Goodwin and Jez & Andy Williams gave birth to an unbelievable sound amidst the unforgiving England skies.

The Last Broadcast, the band's second effort, shows a more centered approach to song-writing. though Lost Souls was an incredible accomplishment with songs like 'The Man Who Told Everything,' it was weighed down by a severe eccentricity; each song seemed to display a different (but still agreeable) manner of song-writing. their latest effort, though by no means an evocation of concurrent sounds, is not as erratic as their previous works. the crashing of guitars has been made a bit more evident on songs like 'There Goes The Fear,' the intense 'Pounding,' and 'N.Y.' but what i find most pleasing is just how spiritual some of the music sounds. 'Satellites,' 'Friday's Dust,' and 'Caught By The River' are, superficially, like doxologies as Jimi's voice carries almost like clouds or a mist. these are the songs which enrapture and not just entertain their audiences.

bands like The Doves, The Swords Project, and Death Cab For Cutie possess a special gift of transforming the grim and commonplace into items of inspiration and emotional diversity. all seem to use forboding elements as a positive or at least multidimensional vehicle. The Doves seem to have transformed the irreducible, grey mass into a sun of its own.