Doves are one of those bands that occupy a strange place on the musical landscape… three UK number one albums (which may well be four by the time this article gets finished) and a handful of classic early/mid 2000s singles, yet somehow they never seemed to have got the wider adulation that there output suggested they were always on the cusp of achieving.
Having regrouped in 2019 following a nine year hiatus things haven’t been as smooth sailing as intended. First Covid came along and disrupted the world, then planned shows for 2021 had to be cancelled due to singer/bassist Jimi Goodwin’s mental health struggles. The band existed in limbo then until 2024, with a mini tour with guitarist Jez Williams taking over lead vocals in Jimi’s continuing absence.
Having been fortunate to get tickets for the performance at Hebden Bridge Trades club on said mini tour I’d come away slightly disappointed. Whether it had been due to Jez finding his feet in his new role as frontman, rustiness after a five year break from live performances or just a bad day in the office the band had lacked a bit of the spark that they’d had when I’d seen them years before. But that obviously didn’t put me off getting tickets for the subsequent tour to promote the release of sixth album Constellations for the Lonely.
The show marked the band’s first show in Leeds in sixteen years and the first time at Leeds Beckett Student Union (formerly Leeds Metropolitan) since 2000, but in some ways it was an extended homecoming, with drummer Andy regaling the audience of his year spent as a student here, seeing Run DMC and the Stone Roses performing on the stage he was now gracing.
With a set list comprising tracks almost equally from across their six album back catalogue there was maybe a bit of safety in only performing three songs from new album Constellations for the Lonely, but the timeless nature of their song writing meant that these songs meshed perfectly with those released a quarter of a century ago. With growing confidence as a frontman Jez prowled the stage throughout, throwing rock star shapes with his guitar and generally looking far more relaxed than he had done last November.
Of course though, hits like Pounding and The Cedar Room gained the biggest response from the crowd, transporting audience members back to the heady days of the mid 2000s with even a few mini mosh pits breaking out. But then just to defy the norm after an evening of indie classics the night was drawn to a close with the return of rave classic Space Face, a song from the members’ pre-Doves day when they produced dance anthems as Sub Sub.
There’s always a sense a satisfaction seeing an old favourite band return to form and reclaim the heights they once touched. When and if Jimi returns to the live band is still to be seen, but for now Doves‘ position as a band to see is secure yet again.
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Doves Performed:
Firesuite
Carousels
Words
Cold Dreaming
Black and White Town
Renegade
Snowden
Cycle of Hurt
Winter Hill
Pounding
Last Year’s Man
Rise
Mother Silverlake
10:03
Caught by the River
The Cedar Room
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Here It Comes
Kingdom of Rust
There Goes the Fear
Space Face
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