Doves

Formerly members of Madchester scenesters Sub Sub, twin brothers Jez and Andy Williams and schoolmate Jimi Goodwin left the hazy Hacienda club sound behind and emerged from the ashes of Brit pop as brooding, melancholic indie saviours Doves. Debut album Lost Souls (2000) dabbled with shoegazing sonics and ethereal heartbreak, winning a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize and producing the singles “The Cedar Room” and “Catch The Sun”. The mixture of overcast Northern drizzle and chiming guitars proved even more successful on follow-up The Last Broadcast (2002), which topped the UK Albums Chart, produced the hit single “There Goes The Fear” and won them another Mercury Music Prize nomination. A glorious gig at the Eden Project, Cornwall and support slots with U2, Oasis and Coldplay sent third album Some Cities (2005) straight to the top of the UK charts before they decamped to a farmhouse studio in the Lancashire countryside to make the critically acclaimed Kingdom of Rust (2009). Calling an indefinite hiatus the following year, the three continued to find their creative juices flowing, with Goodwin penning and releasing a debut solo album entitled Odludek in 2014 and the twins breaking off to form splinter group Black Rivers. By 2018, however, the group had reformed, with their fifth LP, The Universal Want, arriving in 2020. Reclaiming their spot atop the national charts, it was met with critical acclaim, with lead single “Carousels” also charting in Scotland.