Track Listing

1. Some Cities
2. Black And White Town
3. Almost Forgot Myself
4. Snowden
5. The Storm
6. Walk In Fire
7. One Of These Days
8. Someday Soon
9. Shadows Of Salford
10. Sky Starts Falling
11. Ambition

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9017 in Music
• Released on: 2005-02-21
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Doves return with a follow-up to The Last Broadcast that, unexpectedly, is something of a concept album. Some Cities builds on that titular theme throughout the course of its wintry--and, at times, monolithic--citysongs.

First single "Black and White Town" is in good company here: Doves' distinctive jangling and fractured chords also feature in "One Of These Days" and, most impressively, the hope-tinged northern dirge that is "Shadows Of Salford". But the most interesting cut here is "The Storm", which uses an old Ryuichi Sakamoto string sample to great effect, pitching Doves into compelling new territory that could well be explored in the future.

Elsewhere Doves' trademark soaring, epic sound is retained intact from Lost Souls and The Last Broadcast. Doves repeat their peerless use of a thumping kick to propel songs such as "Black and White Town" and "Sky Starts Falling" to their blistered crescendos, all the while keeping a uniquely dynamic sound that is exclusively Doves.--Jonathan Davies

From the Label
If the first two Doves albums, Lost Souls and The Last Broadcast, were records that sounded like they were conceived in Glastonbury-like vast open plains, each number a snapshot of the wide open countryside or of the rolling sea, then their third album, Some Cities, paints altogether different pictures. At points it's crunching and urban, sounding like a midnight high-speed joy ride through the industrial beating heart of the city (most noticeably on the turbo charged first single "Black and White Town"). At others, it's like a long lost soundtrack to some early '60s kitchen sink drama ("Someday Soon", "Shadows of Salford"). Some Cities could only ever have been born in the North of England and is the sound of a full throttle Doves band. It's also the sound of the band at their most relaxed and confident, their most driven and fine-tuned.

Some Cities arrives almost three years after The Last Broadcast. Conceived as a shorter, more forceful record than its two predecessors, the record was written primarily in cottages and holiday rents around the UK (Snowdonia, Darlington and Youlgreave in the Peak District) and recorded with Ben Hillier (producer of Blur's Think Tank and Elbow's Cast of Thousands) in Liverpool, Brixton and Loch Ness.

CD Description
'Some Cities' is the third album from Manchester three piece Doves. Recorded in various places around the UK including Snowdonia and also a rundown Benedectine monastery near LochNess, the album sees Goodwin and co. progress with their indie rock sound. The Motown backbeat driven single 'Black AndWhite Town' is also included.

Customer Reviews

One of my faves of 2005 - for sure
There is so much going on that on a simple background listen one would miss. I suppose generally it's a chilled album but my body has been discovered to be uncontrollably jigging to the groove. Grooves which tend to be constant in structure with only slight alterations along the way.

I'm now gonna go against all that I've just written and say the word "Epic".

Songs average at 4.30 and, from a recording and mixing point of view, cover a massive range of styles and techniques. A fantastic use of room sounds (I've been told they recorded a lot of the album in an old church (the sleeve states that it was recorded and mixed in 10 different locations!!!) and computer (or otherwise) effects.

I find myself occasionally listening and waiting for the next effect to slip in `cos it always sounds so freakin' ace!!

This is my first time with this band and I can highly recommend it as a starting point. After this I got all their other albums and discovered many delights on the way.

I'd recommend this album to anyone with a cultured and wide range in tastes. It's not too intrusive and has a great mixture of sad and happy songs, leaving you feeling ... well ... alive!

This album will be in and out of my player for the rest of my life. And I'll always find something new!

Conclusion:
A lovely chunk of ear candy - eat it NOW!

Says something when you're told this "isn't their best"...
This is my first taste of Doves, and "Some Cities" has certainly proved an enjoyable album to listen to over the past week (and perhaps, even, for a few weeks to come).

"Some Cities" opens its namesake album, and is fairly enjoyable even if it doesn't aspire to much. It then merges into the next track - "Black & White Town" - which has a pacey piano-riff and a thumping drum that sends it along nicely - this is arguably the best track on the album and it's no surprise it has been released as the first single. "Almost Forgot Myself" maintains the upbeat start to the album and has a 60s feel and proabably owes something to the bands of that era such as The Kinks. Snowden - which looks to be the second single from "Some Cities" - has twinkly guitar riffs and blaring oriental-style bursts which build up to the song's climax, ending in a climbing mountain of sound which justifies the track's name.

Here, a break from the summery beginning comes in the form of "The Storm", built around a movie-score sample with strings-infested melancholy that works rather well, and is certainly one of my favourite tracks on the album.

The album then returns to its previous state - albeit with a slightly darker side - with the songs "Walk In Fire" and "One Of These Days", the latter sounding like the perfect anthem for a summer festival. "Someday Soon" mixes somber vocals with a hopeful guitar/flute-like instrument riff to good effect. "Shadows of Salford" is a favourite of mine but is probably not very accessible - sounds depressing on the first listen, but creates a ghostly atmosphere with a creepy piano, vulnerable vocals and bursts of 'ooh! ooh!' that collaborates to make a somewhat unsettling but pleasant song. Hmmm....

The penultimate track is "Sky Starts Falling", a fast moving track which features an ongoing stomp that returns to the upbeat flavour heard earlier on but with a bit of angst thrown in. The final track is "Ambition", a nice, typically calming and soothing closer that completes the album well.

"Some Cities" is a pleasure to listen to, and while it lacks the killer track which will be memorable in a decade's time, it doesn't have a weak song - as a result, I have found the entire album to be enjoyable and will consider getting some of Doves' back catalogue as I've heard from others that this isn't their best. Well, they must be pretty consistent at writing good songs if that's the case!

The First GREAT Album of 2005!
I just listened to the entire album on NME and, having already fallen in love with "Black and White Town," I am now chomping at the bit to buy "Some Cities" when it hits the States. In addition to "Black," my favorite tracks are "Snowden" and the gorgeous "One of These Days." This is an epic album from start to finish.