Lost Souls [EXTRA TRACKS]

Doves

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 17, 2000)
• Original Release Date: October 17, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks
• Label: Astralwerks
• ASIN: B00004Z42C
• Also Available in: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (123 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #11,288 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #2 in	Music > Indie Music > Alternative Rock > Alternative Pop
  #53 in	Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > Dream Pop
  #59 in	Music > Pop > Britpop

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
In an about-face that could alienate technophiles, this group of dance revisionists celebrate guitars and "real instruments" in the face of processed music. The Williams brothers and their mate Jim Goodwin first had a hit with the disco-charged "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)," but they became disillusioned with the Manchester scene, picked up guitars, and formed the Doves--a band determined to infuse raw emotion into their music. From instrumental opener "Firesuite," which showcases their rumbling, restrained guitar firepower, to the tumbling acoustic shanty "Sea Song" to the balmy Technique-era New Order rocker "Catch the Sun," none of the album's 11 tracks bears any real resemblance to any other (and, in this rare instance, that's a positive). The Doves have produced an outstanding debut album in Lost Souls, alternately melancholy and uplifting, sparkling darkly with charged atmospherics. --Mike Pattenden

Product Description
Debut album for Manchester three-piece. Includes the singles'The Cedar Room', 'Catch The Sun' and 'Here It Comes'. For fans of The Verve, New Order, Radiohead, Oasis & Massive Attack. Domestic edition features three exclusive bonus tracks that weren't included on the UK version, 'Darker', 'Valley' and Zither'. 2000 release. Standard jewel case.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the year's best releases, January 4, 2001

By	Adam Klintworth (Bradley University, Peoria IL) - See all my reviews

When I first heard of Doves, they were lumped into the Travis/Radiohead category that every British rock band seems to be lumped into these days. After listening to Lost Souls, this comparison is not quite accurate. Now, Radiohead has been my favorite band for quite a while, but their styles are very different. Missing from Lost Souls is the angst of The Bends and OK Computer, but it keeps the epic scope of those albums. Doves have a very unique way of blending dark riffs with beautiful melodies, definitely shown on songs such as the title track, "Sea Song", and "Break Me Gently". Overall, the album has the feel of The Verve more than Radiohead, but it's still one of the best releases of this year. One of the previous reviewers mentioned a similar feeling to OK Computer when listening to this album, and I have to agree with them. Although it doesn't sound like Radiohead, it evokes the feeling of a "true album", one that has a continuous epic feeling to it, and one that must be listened to many times before it can fully be appreciated. Lost Souls has already turned into one of my favorite albums, and will probably stay that way for quite some time. If you're a fan of British rock, this one comes highly recommended.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Found "Souls", November 24, 2004

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The Doves made their stunning debut with "Lost Souls," a brooding, symphonic rock album that is impossible to forget. The Manchester group delivers the basics -- simple melodies are layered with richly psychedelic sound, anguished songs about how it's "a crime to feel." If it is, then the Doves are accessories to the crime.

"Firesuite" opens the album in a unique way -- a chaotic rumble that turns into midtempo pop, dissolves into eerie sound effects, and then turns into a shudderingly epic rock song. On that note, the Doves dive into the heady rock of "Here It Comes" and the acoustically-based ballad "Man Who Told Everything." Other songs chart more twisted territory -- "Break Me Gently" is a mournful, grey-toned psychedelic head trip.

It's a rarity to find an album with no filler at all -- the closest thing "Lost Souls" has is "Reprise." It's even rarer to find an album than can do just about any kind of Brit-rock -- the Doves demonstrate power pop, shades of hard rock, and large doses of psychedelica. What's more, they often weave them all together at once.

The music is so seamless and smooth that it's a bit of a shock to see all that was involved in making it. The instrumentation is pretty standard: mellow acoustic guitar, some backing electric guitars, roiling basslines and solid drums. Then the brooding music is wrapped up in a few sound samples and windy-sounding programming. It sounds simple, but the results are mind-bendingly.

Vocalist/guitarist Jimi Goodwin has a great voice for this music -- his vocals actually manage to be the centerpiece of the music. He sounds strong and a bit depressed, as he sings about escaping from his life, burning houses and the loss of a love. "A House" is the most upbeat the album gets, with Goodwin singing gently, "Day after day and the life goes on/and I try and see the good in everyone/if I ever find myself here again/I'll give everything."

The gloriously dark music of the Doves is fully realized in their debut, "Lost Souls." Though it deserves much better, this is one of the lesser-known gems of British rock.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Played, Well Written, Well Produced. An Amazing Debut!, February 14, 2001

By	R. W. Taylor "hope-this-helps" (Woodland Park CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

You have to believe bands like DOVES don't deal well with comparisons to others. That's good, because in many ways, they compare to no other band out there, but in others, there are stong similarities. Perhaps one measure of the "goodness" of a new group is in the likelyhood other would ever copy them. For DOVES the answer is never. In a field of thousands, they have managed to create a unique, begulling sound.

I love this disk. Here's why:

1. It's really long. I'm tired of CD's only half full. With LOST SOULS, you get what you pay for. If you don't warm up quickly to one track, you will certainly find another you like among the 15 tunes here. The kind of disk you hear once and think, "I bet I'm going to like this a lot..." Then after 7 or 8 plays on the Car Stereo, you are in love.

2. I sense an underlying theme. Too many groups today toss together whatever they have been collecting for the past years. Perhaps that's true for DOVES, but if so, they hid it well.

3. The music is full-bodied, well produced. No Miller Lite here. At times, simple, but always rich. From a guitar and piano to the sounds of a full orchestra. You get it here.

4. Some songs: a. FIRESUITE sets the stage...tells you what's on the way. I thought I was hearing a Pink Floyd disk at first. 95% instrmental, Firesuite has some unintelligible lyrics in the backgound. Sort of "Enigma"-tic

b. HERE IT COMES starts out with some beautiful background piano, then moves toward a whining organ from any rock band of the 60's. Liner notes include a credit to Velvet Underground. Perhaps their influence was present here. But in the end this song reminded me more if "Morrisey" or "The Smiths."

c. BREAK ME GENTLY is both the title of song 3 and the a change of pace for the disk. More like "Radiohead" for me. I love this song.

d. SEA SONG is my favorite lick on the disk. A repetitive guitar melody overlaid by rich tonalization. I keep running back to this one.

e. Track 7, MELODY CALLS, sounds like a different band. But it's a great song. It reminds me most of the English group "James."

f. The catchiest tune, and the one with the most popular potential, is CATCH THE SUN. This is the song I heard first, that made me want the disk. You will love it. For me, it's mix between "Travis," "Crowded House," and "Level 42."

I highly recommend this new English band. A great value, a great disk.

Truly, this could be the start of something big for DOVES.