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Jun 18, 2020 By Christopher Roberts

British trio Doves have returned with “Carousels,” their first new song in 11 years. The band went on an “indefinite pause” in 2010, but announced their reunion in 2018 and played their first reunion show in March 2019, to benefit Teenage Cancer Trust. Other live shows followed, along with promises of new music. Well, here it is. The band’s last album was 2009’s Kingdom of Rust, which was their fourth. While “Carousels” isn’t quite as immediate and poppy as say “Black and White Town,” “Caught By the River,” “Here it Comes,” and some of their other classic singles, it is certainly has those Doves vibes, with a strong backbeat (built around a sample of the late Afrobeat legend Tony Allen), atmosphere to spare, and Jimi Goodwin’s emotive and recognizable vocals. It’s a pleasure to have them back. The song is accompanied by an animated video directed by Yoni Weisberg. Watch it below.

The band’s Andy Williams had this to say about the song in a press release: “It’s a reminiscence of the times that we’d go to places like North Wales on holiday as kids. Places where you had your first experience of sound systems and music being played really loud.”

The lineup for Doves is Jimi Goodwin (vocals/bass), Andy Williams (drums/vocals), and Jez Williams (guitars/programming/vocals). The band produced “Carousels” themselves, which was engineered by Dan Austin and mixed by Craig Silvey. It was recorded at the band’s own Frank Bough Sound III studio. Jez hatched the initial idea for the song while on a trip to the Portuguese city of Porto and presented it to the rest of the band when he returned. “I was blown away. It’s got a bad-ass breakbeat,” Goodwin says, of his first reaction.

Doves have released four albums: 2000’s Lost Souls, 2002’s The Last Broadcast, 2005’s Some Cities, and 2009’s Kingdom of Rust. Since their hiatus, frontman Jimi Goodwin released a solo album, Odludek, in 2014. That same year, Doves’ other two members, brothers Jez and Andy Williams, formed the new band Black Rivers (they released their debut album in 2015). Doves were interviewed in our very first print issue, back in 2001, and we have interviewed them for each of their four albums, so the band has a special place in our hearts. A new album is in the works.

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