Pounding! (The Last Broadcast - Doves)

Member Name: drunkenabby007

Product:	The Last Broadcast - Doves
Date:	21/08/02 (298 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some incredible songs, Top lyrics, Good selection of songs

Disadvantages: It's not Lost Souls, It won't win the Mercury Music Prize

The Doves debut album, Lost Souls, released in 2000 was hailed by some as one of the finest debut albums of the year. The former members of 90s dance act
Sub Sub had redeveloped themselves as The Doves, an indie britrock act who,in my opinion, were the most refreshing new band in years. The Last Broadcast, the follow up album was released this year, along with a top 10 smash, There Goes The Fear. But how does the album stand up?

The Last Broadcast has 12 tracks on it, which vary dramatically in both their style and how good they are. I'll give a brief description of all the tracks, and my opinion on them all.

1. INTRO (1.19mins)

A short, musical intro which is there to set the mood of the album. Nothing particularly exciting here. It sets the tone for the album as a whole, but isn't so much of a song as...well and intro!

2. WORDS (5.43mins)

Unlike Lost Souls, The Last Broadcast see's some of the vocals being taken
over by guitarist Jez Williams, who, on LS simply took on backing vocals duty. Musically, this track is a brilliant opening song. A gorgeously simple but
effective guitar is set with a simple drum beat and supporting bass line. The texture of the tune is fairly thick, with a jangly guitar throughout the
verses. It also has some fantastic backing vocals by the usual lead singer Jimi Goodwin. Lyrically, the song has The Doves trade mark simple but meaningful
lyrics - "Words they mean nothing, so you can't hurt me." Wicked start to the album. 8/10

3. THERE GOES THE FEAR (6.56mins)

The first single to be taken from the album, this song opens again with a simple, jangly guitar riff. The song changes between being simple, thin
guitar and vocals, to being a thumping, thick texture with a fantastic, sing-a-long chorus. This song see's Jim taking back over the lead vocals, but still having backing vocals harmonising over the melody. Personally, I can
n't listen to this tune without both singing along and swaying, and dancing! It's a fantastic tune, which, unlike a lot of songs today, has a middle 8 which fits perfectly, and has a fantastic guitar line thorughout. Again, the lyrics are simple but meaning - "You look to those you love to justify." Unlike the single, the album version has a longer musical ending, which I much prefer. At nearly 7 mins, the song is preffy long, but doesn't
once get boring. You can tell why it was the first single. 9/10

4. M62 SONG (3.52mins)

I love bands using interesting samples, and this tune see's all the sound being taken from, unsuprsingly, the M62! This is an acoustic song, again seeing Jim not taking on the lead vocals. The folk-style guitar has a lot of heavy 60s influence in it, and the song itself has a very thin texture, acting as a stark contrast to There Goes The Fear. The harmonies are again, perfect for the song, and suit the lyrics very well - this is pretty much as close to a love song as the Doves come "Waiting for my love..." In my
opinion this is the weakest song on the album, but then I love the Doves
heavier tunes. 5/10

5. WHERE WE'RE CALLING FROM (1.26mins)

Like the intro, this is a short piece of instrumental, simply acting as an interlude, with angelic vocals over the top. Like the intro, there is little I can say about it, other than its inclusion is a device employed by the Doves to be different from the normal standard album. And it works.

6. NY (5.48mins)

Again, we see Jimi singing on this one. For some bizarre reason, and I cannot explain why, this song reminds me slightly (very very slightly) of the Smashing Pumpkins, with the way it shifts from simple vocals and guitar to a vocal line with a thicker musical backing. We also have a school-orchestra type interlude in the song, which again makes the Doves stand out form the norm. As the song becomes m
ore acousticy, we have the twangy guitar notes introduced, which, I have noticed from the previous album, and this one, is one of the Doves musical motifs, and it crops up repeatedly throughout the songs. The song also has a strong electronic feel, wtih some Regular Fries type industrial sound effects coming in (think the Chemical Brothers if you have never heard the Regular Fries.) I love the electronic aspect of this song, and the way it changes from acoustic, to rocky, to electronic. A lot of songs when this is done just sounds like it has been hsahed together at the last minute, but this one works really really well. 6/10

7. SATELITTES (6.52mins)

This one takes its time to get going, but builds up gradually with guitars and sound effects, then vocals. The vocal line to this is so sweet and simple, over humming backing vocals which kind of remind me of a gospel style song. The chorus to this tune is so easy to sing along to you remember it instantly. Musically, the song relies heavily on the backing vocals, but a very quiet, simple guitar line is matched with basic drum beat, which do not distract from the searing vocal line. "Satelittes ahead - so hold on." For me this is such a sweet song, and the kind of thing I would put on on a Sunday morning after a heavy Saturday night. Towards the end of the song the music does get more interesting as we have an instrumental section, with the drums building up slightly, but unlike the previous songs, we don't see a complete change to a more rocky tune. When I first heard this I thought it was an okay tune, but now I think it's absolutely fantastic. Too many bands throw in as many complex guitar riffs and drum beats and it can ruin a good song. This is music at its bare minimum - great melodies, harmonies, and simple, unfussy lyrics and music. And I love it. 8/10

8. FRIDAYS DUST (3.37mins)

Another acoustic track, complete with violins playing in the backing music. The g
uitar line is gorgeous and summery, and we even hear a bit of clarinet thrown in! The effects used on the vocals remind me of crashing waves (I have no idea why), and so the entire song makes me think of holidays. The vocal line is also padded out through various effects, and so the thin texture of the musical line is totally contrasted. Jimi's vocals at first I thought let this song down, but as I listen to it more it does grow on me. I'm not a huge fan of this song, but it's okay. 5/10

9. POUNDING (4.45mins)

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. There are very few songs which I hear, and I just know that they are absolute classics. When I first heard this song they were playing it live on Jules Holland, and I had to rewind my video 5 times in order to hear it again and again. A 'pounding' drum beat is matched with equally heavy guitar and bass lines. The chorus builds up and all of a sudden hits you - I challenge anyone to hear this song and not be nodding along with the beat! This song sees a departure from the jangly guitars of the other tune, but it sounds fantastic! The drums throughout are brilliant, and really get you into the tune. Lyrically, I think this song is brilliant, and the kind of thing that you scream at the top of you voice when this song is on in a club - "We don't mind, if this don't last forever." The song makes you jump up and down, throw your arms about, and think that life is great! After a musical interlude, we have the music, and guitar solo and Jimi just singing 'Ahhh' over the music. Simple, basic, and amazing. This song has all the makings of an absolute classic tune - it's not too long, it doesn't have any bit which sounds out of place, and it makes you feel good. Wicked. 10/10.

10. LAST BROADCAST (3.21mins)

This song opens with sing-songy vocals over a jangly guitar riff. The song doesn't realy change at all, other than with the introduction of the
organ, and reverb being put on the vocals. "You can't escape yourself" I think is quite a lovely lyric, is not a bit scary! There isn't really an awful lot I can say on this tune, other than it makes me think of a filler song. I'm very suprised this is the album's title track, but then it's a good title, but not a brilliant song. 5/10.

11. SULPHUR MAN (4.38mins)

We again hear a string backing in this song, as well as synthised vocals. The tunes has loads of gorgeous, etheral effects in it, as well as the trade mark vocal harmonies. Like many of the songs on this album the texture is quite thin, and musically it doesn't really change that much, but we see new threads of music being introduced throughout the song. It's a very atmospheric track, and builds up gradually towards the end until we have various layers of music. It's not the most exciting song on the album, but I do like it. 7/10

12. CAUGHT BY THE RIVER (5.55mins)

This is a great, ending tune. Acoustic, matching all the other songs on the album really well, and contains all the Doves classic elements to make a perfect tune to wind up the album. The vocals are backed up with female harmonies, and the jangly guitar is back, doing a solo. It follows a fairly basic musical structure, and doesn't try to do anything spectacular. I love the chorus to this song, and I think that it would be a fantastic live track. The song itself as a whole is one which does stick in your head, not so much that you forget the rest of the album, but enough so you end on a high note. In my opinion, the final track is one of the most important on the album, as it leaves you with your final opinion, so it's vital to get it right, and I think the Doves definately did with this one. Towards the end of the song we get a classic Doves guitar solo emerging, followed by fading out vocals, which seem to get further and further away. Good ending track. 7/10


So, what's my overall opinion? The Sunday Telegraph, for me, summed this album up perfectly. It has been raved about, and no doubt will get a Mercury Music Prize nomination (it won't win - There Goes The Fear going top 10 ensured this.) However, it's critical acclaim, I think, is because of their previous album. This is not as good as Lost Souls, but is being hailed as better because it's new - a reviewer can't review an album which is 2 years old! I am very very suprised it has done as well as it has, not because it's not good, but because the band themselves are not a commercial band - Jimi Goodwin does not play up to his audience, he is a musician. They are all fairly old, and hardly an attractive band, which is something which the British public is obssessed with. It does, however, have some fantastic tunes on. If you like the Manchester music scene, you will love this CD. But buy Lost Souls first.

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