This came out in 2005 — or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
With the epic swell and U2ish majesty of their previous disc The Last Broadcast, Doves seemed a cut above the rest of their mopey British brethren — and seemed destined for big things.
Well, the latter never happened. And sometimes, during the limper and less-focused passages of Some Cities, you might not be so sure about the former anymore either. Maybe it’s that the whole whimpering Britpop thing has pretty much run its course. Maybe it’s because they’ve forsaken the space-rock flights of fancy for shorter songs that are more direct and less dramatic. Maybe it’s the marshmallowy production that swaddles everything in pillows of reverb and shaves all the edges off the sound. Or maybe it’s that everything they seem to be trying to do here, bands like Radiohead and Spiritualized have already covered.
Whatever the case, aside from a few rockier moments that keep you from nodding off, Some Cities is a disappointing place you might not want to visit more than once.
