Rob’s Album Of The Week: Doves’ The Universal Want

Anticipation can either destroy or heighten the quality of an album. It all depends on whether or not the album itself meets expectations and lives up to hype. If it does, then the senses get a refreshing dose of excitement that they’ve been craving for over a decade. Manchester indie rock stalwarts Doves accomplished this with the release of their fifth studio album, The Universal Want, via Heavenly Recordings, Virgin Records and EMI Records on September 11. The trio of bassist and lead vocalist Jimi Goodwin, guitarist Jez Williams and his brother Andy on drums hark back to their early sounds that initially made them great while also pushing things forward.

The album is the trio’s first in 11 years and it doesn’t seem like Doves have dealt with any rust or any lacking in caliber. There’s an acoustic foundation in various songs while incorporating elements of alternative, shoegaze and psychedelic rock. Goodwin’s lyrics have always exhibited a poetic flow and that hasn’t wavered in the new release. Despite 2020 being a shitty year for everyone, one of the most underrated acts in music history putting out a stellar record is one of the few positives. It’s purely excellent in various ways and I genuinely mean that.

One underlying theme of this year, and perhaps it’s not as underlying as some of us think, is a lot of things coming to a…