Not Rusting Just Yet

Kingdom of Rust
Doves
Heavenly Recordings, 2009
3.5 stars

It must be hard work being a contemporary Brit-pop group in the shadow of Coldplay. But over the past decade these guys have plugged away, crafting the same kind of emotive, wide-reaching pop/rock as other shadow-dwellers Elbow and Keane. Their last LP, Some Cities, however, proved them to be at least a few rungs above the average. Kingdom of Rust, their first album in four years, sees Doves follow that same path – its songs, though not particularly inventive, are real foot-tappers - you’d be a fool to deny that these guys know how to write a good tune. Some Cities was choc-full of instant radio hits, but Kingdom of Rust is a bit more of a slow-burner. Thankfully singer Jimi Goodwin’s yearning vocal styling hasn’t changed over the band’s entire four-album catalogue –with the diverse nature of this record, there’s times where it’s the only recognizably ‘Doves’ thing happening. Highlights come in the form of the bottom-heavy guitar wig-out on 10:03 and the great, spacious groove of The Greatest Denier, but the Blondie-esque Compulsion is, well, kind of embarrasing. Kingdom of Rust won’t blow you away, but it definitely makes a nice addition to what is a solid catalogue for the Manchester three-piece.

Artwork: C+
A few nice photo-montages with a real 'rust' theme and some clean type make for a tidy, if a little underwhelming, overall package.

Published in mX, Thursday April 9, 2009.