VIRGIN EMI
★★★★
If, instead of turning to Travis, Coldplay had enjoyed youthful musical epiphanies somewhere like Manchester’s Haçienda, they may have ended up sounding a lot like Doves. The comparison’s no doubt controversial, and Jimi Goodwin and brothers Jez and Andy Williams might not appreciate it, but it’s sparked both by Goodwin’s voice, which often sounds like a downbeat Chris Martin – if there’s such a thing – and the ascendant intent of many of both bands’ songs. Listen to the guitar lines underpinning Cycle Of Hurt, or Cathedrals Of The Mind, on which Goodwin’s yearning for a missing pal rises above its dubby undertow. The title track, meanwhile, begins like the Yellow lads at half-speed before transforming into an uplifting canter towards a stadium-sized climax. Still, given the grittier furrow Doves plough, fans will no doubt prefer Elbow references. I Will Not Hide’s acoustic guitars emphasise a certain Guy Garvey-esque character, and though For Tomorrow may lack their North Western neighbours’ sumptuous elegance, its second half summons them to mind, too. At their finest, however, Doves are simply Doves, never more so than on the rousing Carousels, which, like all their best moments, combines a realist’s gloom with an idealist’s positivity.