Doves - Some Cities

With their third outing, Some Cities, Doves created their most cohesive album to date. While the British trio's debut, LOST SOULS, conjured up a wonderfully melancholy mood, and its follow-up, THE LAST BROADCAST, expanded the band's sonic palette, Some Cities sees Doves fine-tuning their sound with the strengths of both previous releases. Atmospheric rock remains the group's calling card, as best exemplified by the shimmering "Almost Forgot Myself," the string-laden "The Storm," and the woozy "Shadows of Salford." Although the album is filled with mid-tempo tunes, "Black and White Town" picks up the pace with a Motown-like backbeat, "Walk in Fire" builds to a thrilling crescendo (much like THE LAST BROADCAST's "There Goes the Fear"), and "Sky Starts Falling" presents the trio in a buoyant, rocked-out mode. Crafting three excellent albums in a row is a tall order for any band, but with Some Cities, Doves have done exactly that.