Doves
The Universal Want
Release Date: Sep 11, 2020
Genre(s): Pop/Rock
Record label: Virgin EMI
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Album Review: The Universal Want by Doves
Great, Based on 6 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
Doves went on hiatus at a strange time, just after the release of their excellent fourth album, 2009's Kingdom of Rust which had the band reaching their prime. In the elapsed time prior to reforming in 2018, lead singer Jimi Goodwin released a solo album, Odludek in 2014, while brothers Jez and Andy Williams hooked up as Black Rivers for a self-titled album a year later. Although both decent efforts, it did highlight that Doves are greater than the sum of its parts.
Based on rating 8/10
The aughts demanded the work. The ensuing decade provided the break. When Jimi Goodwin, Andy Williams, and Jez Williams, together the Cheshire-based trio known as Doves, announced an indefinite hiatus after putting out The Places Between: The Best of Doves in 2010, it signaled the closing of a chapter—and maybe more. The band members themselves had no clue.
Based on rating 4
The most immediately striking thing about the first Doves album in 11 years is the way it so effortlessly picks up where the group left off before their hiatus. That's not to say that it sounds dated or stuck in the past, for on the contrary The Universal Want feels fresh and relevant, but it strikes a fine balance between progress and comforting familiarity, bridging the years since 2009's Kingdom Of Rust so effectively that you quickly forget just how long it's been since Doves last released an album. Carousels is perfectly placed as opening track and lead single.
Based on rating 8
It has been eleven years, and Doves' return marks a novel and monumental chapter in a durable career tinged with acclaim and success. But the Manchester trio have not been resting on their laurels, far from it. Following a series of projects, it is time to breathe some fresh air into the legacy. Signs of activity have been noted.
Based on rating 7/10
Having named their last album Kingdom of Rust, you might've excepted Doves to go on a decade-long hiatus on a dour note. But the Machester trio's fourth album proved that they had much more to prove had an even larger audience given them a chance. Anthemic, triumphant, and quasi-jazzy, Doves' songwriting elegance proved too sophisticated even when like-minded bands like Elbow were beginning their much-celebrated run by following a similar formula with The Seldom Seen Kid in 2009.
Based on rating 6.7/10
The transformative power of sound has served as the subtext for basically every song Doves have ever written. On "Cathedrals of the Mind," it's the entire text. The band's Jimi Goodwin describes the third single from The Universal Want as "a prayer to sonics," a recollection of ravers "going insane" in an open field as soundsystems blast at ego-crushing volumes.
'The Universal Want'
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