Retrovideo Friday: Before they were Doves

Once again, a minor note: I'm sorry about the delays with my posts this week. I'm still a little under the weather, so that's been messing with my schedule a bit.

Moving on! This week's Retrovideo Friday explores a band before they became the band we know today. A lot of musicians have a tendency to evolve — many of the bands we know started out with a different name or different sound. Doves — the band I saw in concert last week and reviewed — are among those groups that had a very different (and interesting) start, which is why we have...

This Week's Pick: "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" by Sub Sub, featuring Melanie Williams (Year: 1993)

Before they became the Doves, Jimi Goodwin, Jez and Andy Williams were a dance act that went by the name Sub Sub. The group actually had a bit of success in this incarnation. Their 1993 single "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)," featuring guest vocalist Melanie Williams, reached #3 on the UK Singles Chart. They released a full-length album the following year, but didn't really seem to achieve the same sort of success as they did with the single.

It's interesting to listen to "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" and watch its video — it isn't very Doves-like at all, and frankly everything about both the song and video is very stereotypically 90s.

But as we all know, Doves eventually evolved, and it was actually the result of a tragedy. After a fire destroyed their studio, the band moved on, changing their name from Sub Sub to Doves in the late nineties and developing their current sound.

Watch the video for "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" below to get a taste of what the Doves were like 16 years ago. And in a Retrovideo Friday first, watch another video (featuring the Doves playing the title track and "Winter Hill" from this year's Kingdom of Rust on Later with Jools Holland). What do you find most striking about their transformation?

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Doves return to NYC at Terminal 5: 6/4/09

There are some bands out there that have a pretty good following. They get excellent press and they have a solid amount of fans. Yet, they still manage to "fly under the radar." The UK's Doves totally fit this bill.

But their Thursday night concert at New York City's Terminal 5 — their first in the city in approximately four years — would have suggested otherwise. The venue was packed with adoring fans (even the bizarre, obnoxiously rowdy types behind me seemed to know all the lyrics to each song), excited to catch the band in the area. As even bassist/singer Jimi Goodwin pointed out, it had been far "too long."
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The band, noted for being consistently solid live, did a great job despite some sound issues that popped up here and there. The sound problems seem to be a Terminal 5 thing for the most part — I've read and heard numerous complaints about the venue since I first went there to see The National perform, and I suppose there is some truth to what people have said. Goodwin wound up spending the first few songs motioning at the sound and monitor guys to adjust the mix.

But with or without sound issues, the band powered through a set featuring numerous songs from their current album Kingdom of Rust, alongside a good mix of songs from their first three albums, thrilling the crowd immensely when they performed songs like "Snowden," "The Cedar Room," and "Caught By the River" to name a few. "Black and White Town" from 2005's Some Cities was one of the big hits during the night, prompting a good chunk of the crowd to dance along with fists pumping.

Doves' newer material also translated well to the stage, with audience members transfixed during Kingdom of Rust's title track and "10:03," which proved to be one of the more beautiful performances of the night. The band succeeded in recreating the moody, moving quality of their studio recordings onstage, transporting many of us in the audience into what felt like another realm. While it's a real shame that Doves aren't bigger than they are, their live shows indicate that they are truly passionate about their art, which is the best gift a band can give their fans.

Watch footage of Doves performing "Kingdom of Rust" and "Here It Comes" (from 2000's Lost Souls, with drummer Andy Williams taking over lead vocals) at Terminal 5 below. You may have trouble viewing embedded videos if you're using Safari, so Firefox is probably the best bet. The full setlist follows at the end of this post.





Setlist: Jetstream, Snowden, Winter Hill, Rise, Pounding, Almost Forgot Myself, 10:03, Words, The Greatest Denier, Kingdom of Rust, Ambition, Black & White Town, The Outsiders, Caught By the River

Encore: The Cedar Room,Here it Comes, Last Broadcast, There Goes the Fear

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Doves - Kingdom of Rust

Four years since their last release (Some Cities) the UK's Doves are back with Kingdom of Rust. Way back in January, guitarist Jez Williams told the NME that the songs recorded for the record were "so schizophrenic, but... also strangely cohesive." Truer words have never been spoken.
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The first three tracks alone are a perfect illustration of Williams' statement. The album starts out with "Jetstream," which begins harmlessly enough before gaining a disconnected, tense quality thanks to its methodically-layered synths and percussion. This somehow manages to flow perfectly into the album's title track, which blends elements of country and orchestral music, while still managing to sound like classic Doves thanks to its cheerfully melancholy vibe. When the song is over, the listener is instantly transported into what feels like a chase scene in a science fiction movie during the first few seconds of "The Outsiders."

It looks like the Doves have gained back a bit of the edge they seemed to have lost back when Some Cities came out, and the end result is a delightful, genuinely interesting mix of sounds. This is also the album where Doves' past as dance act Sub Sub becomes obvious — this may be part of the reason why the album has such a triumphant sound.

The only place where the dance influence becomes a bit of a problem is during "Compulsion," which is a little too reminiscent of Blondie. While I'm not the first person to make this comparison, I would like to note that I'd actually avoided reading and listening to much about/of the album. But I actually found myself humming the melody from "Rapture," when I first heard the opening beats of "Compulsion," which indicates a slight lack of innovation in the latter.

Nonetheless, it can safely be said that this is one of the strongest albums to emerge so far in 2009, and it marks a positive return for the Doves. Long absence or not, they're still a band worthy of the attention they receive. It will be interesting to see what they'll do next.
Stream Kingdom of Rust below:

Kingdom Of Rust - Doves

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