After meeting originally at school, Jez Williams, Andy Williams and Jimi Goodman formed Doves.

With 4 albums under their belt including 2 UK number 1’s they are back for another. Kingdom Of Rust was released on April 6th in the UK under Heavenly Records and with Astralwerks Records in the US on the 7th.

I have never listened to a Doves album before. But I have heard a lot of good things about them. So as you can imagine, I was looking forward to hearing more.

All I do know is that they are responsible for that song. Black and White Town is legendary. Everyone has heard it, a good base for this write-up.

The album begins with Jetstream, a slow number to ease you into the record. The opening track is almost like on We Are Scientists’ Brain Thrust Mastery in the way it begins slowly and repetitive and gradually builds into something more.

Kingdom Of Rust is next, it’s also the track that I recognise from the radio. I like it a lot. The vocals here have similarities to Chris Martin of Coldplay, and he can hold a note.

Would it be fair to say that the subtle chimes are reminiscent of The Last Shadow Puppets? I think so.

The chimes continue for The Outsiders, as well as heavier guitar and electro-swirls. The next track, Winter Hill, is another slow starter. It quickly turned into one of my favorites on the album. It really gets good halfway through.

‘10.03′ does nothing to distort my Coldplay theory. If I heard this on the radio I would immediately assume it to be Coldplay. It does however break out into a real feast later on in the track.

The Greatest Denier and Birds Flew Backwards are two very different songs and show Doves’ variety very well. I would say the latter is the slowest one on the album, quite emotional but effective none-the-least.

Track number 8, Spellbound is crying out to be the next single from the trio and I think I’ve heard this one before. It seems well formed and highly listenable. If I were to listen to one track again, it would be Spellbound.

Next up is Complusion, and this one really is funky. It starts off more dance than rock. At 5.14 it might go on a bit but is worth a listen. House Of Mirrors is another superb number and has some great bass throughout.

Finally, Lifelines and I immediately had good feelings about this song from the way it started. And the vocals are my favorite part of this, shortly followed by what happens after 1.50. It builds suspention and lowers again back into a mild acoustic, before you know it we’re back up again and building into a steady tune.

One thing to take away from listening to this is the lyrics. All very well thought out and executed. Hopefully just as memorable as Black and White Town.

I was expecting Doves to sound a lot like Elbow, and in ways they were, but still very individual, overall an exciting listen.