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Doves Explore the Fragility & Fortitude of the Human Spirit on Brilliant ‘The Universal Want’ | Album Review

September 20, 2020 Justin Chadwick
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Doves
The Universal Want
Heavenly/Virgin/EMI
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Twenty years on from Sub Sub’s formal reincarnation as Doves with the arrival of their dynamic debut album Lost Souls (2000) and eleven years since they embarked upon an extended hiatus following 2009’s Kingdom of Rust, the Mancunian trio have returned in signature, stirring form.

Their long awaited fifth studio affair The Universal Want finds the Brothers Williams (Andy and Jez) and frontman Jimi Goodwin—all of whom turned 50 years young earlier this year—in full, unfettered possession of their powers to inspire through song. Indeed, contrary to the title of their antecedent album and despite the prolonged sabbatical from making music together, there is no rust to be found here across the ten-track expanse of their brilliant fifth LP.

As with their previous four efforts, The Universal Want unfolds as a sonically immersive and lyrically engaging affair, its title emblematic of the album’s central thematic thread that explores our innate, lifelong yearning for a sense of fulfillment and purpose. The insistent “Prisoners” examines the insatiability many of us feel as we look for meaning and substance in our lives, a notion later echoed on the piano-driven title track, with Goodwin inquiring, “How long till we see what we really want? / To see what we really need.”

Propelled by an enveloping, multi-layered swell of sound, the rousing lead single “Carousels” evinces the reality of life’s vicissitudes, with Goodwin proclaiming, “And the wheel turns ‘round / Just when you think you're safe and sound / Oh change of the season, I've found a reason to stay.” With the new season of autumn beckoning and the prospect of better days ahead—if justice prevails in early November here stateside, that is—the song functions as a clarion call to hold on to our faith.

Originally intended for the band’s third album Some Cities (2005), but never finished at the time, “For Tomorrow” is a soaring, contemplative ode to finding redemption in a relationship, as Goodwin straddles the line between somber and sanguine, asserting that “all our dreams of families / Slip by into the breeze,” while offering, “From tomorrow we will live again / For tomorrow, we can see hope / No more sorrow, you will love again / I know, I know.” It’s a much-needed message of resolve & resilience for all of us in these most disenchanting of times.

Two standout compositions in particular, however, have rendered me awestruck, with goosebumps materializing up and down my spine, after repeated listens—a la the feelings that impulsively resurface each time I revisit Lost Souls and The Last Broadcast (2002). A sublime, shimmering feast for the ears, “Cathedrals of the Mind” ranks among Doves’ most impressive fare to date, and the late David Bowie is at least partly to thank for this revelation of a song. “The song stems from a single hook, which developed to evoke this expansive internal monologue, this never-ending chasm of thought,” Jez Williams explains in an official statement. “Subconsciously, through words thrown against it and made to fit, it came to be about someone always being on your mind. The listener can form their own ideas. For me, it was about the loss of Bowie.” Fair enough. I’ve formed my own idea, and I believe “Cathedrals of the Mind” is beautiful.

Likewise, “Mother Silverlake” is an achingly beautiful moment, replete with sonic flourishes reminiscent of Achtung Baby era U2 (think echoes of that LP’s “Ultra Violet (Light My Way)”). Moreover, it’s an eloquently constructed anthem for reclaiming one’s youthful innocence, encapsulated by evocative lines like, “I am a summer on an English lake / Full of sorrow, full of grace / Yeah, I remember in a childhood dream / Just want my mother looking down and watching over me.”

Across each of their five studio albums, Doves have continually refined their penchant for examining the ever-vacillating emotions, the ennui and elation that define the human condition, as we survive one day to the next. And as we all currently await the light at the end of this very dark tunnel we find ourselves in at the moment, The Universal Want reminds us that our irresolution—these conflicted feelings of anger, defiance, exasperation, fear, hope, sadness and everything in between—is not an exercise in futility, but rather the very essence of being and staying alive.

Notable Tracks: “Cathedrals of the Mind” | “For Tomorrow” | “Mother Silverlake” | “Prisoners”

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