Listen to the new single, taken from Doves' upcoming studio album.
DOVES head into an optimistic New Year of SOLD-OUT UK Tour dates and the countdown to their expansive, sixth studio album with the release of the dramatic, synth-and-strings, psychedelic soul single, Cold Dreaming. Clearing another misted window for listeners to peer through in anticipation of upcoming long-player, Constellations For The Lonely, the single crashes in on a tall wave of recurrent synth riffs, deep beats and sky-reaching soundtrack orchestration.
Inherently adaptive with a history of near constant challenge and change, Cold Dreaming finds Doves hitting rude form in the midst of a new period of flux, seeing Andy and Jez Williams taking on lead vocal duties in the studio as well as on stage. Carried by the avalanche of goodwill, joy and relief of their fans following the release of Jimi Goodwin-fronted single, Renegade, in November, the response to the band’s 2025 touring plans has been equally rapturous. 12 of 16 dates, including two dates at Manchester’s Aviva Studios SOLD OUT within hours.
While this year’s live dates will go ahead without Goodwin, Constellations For The Lonely found the three-piece together in the studio, circling shared ambitions for a new, classic Doves album. Where Renegade’s sense of rainy dystopia reigned, Cold Dreaming finds the band exploiting their deep love for psych-soul’s fast-burning golden era of the late-60s and early-70’s, quoting visionary producers, Charles Stepney and David Axelrod as creative references.
Considering lyrics riven once more with Doves typical sense of poetic longing, Andy Williams says: “‘Cold Dreaming’ is a song about forgiveness. Trying to forgive and move on. As a minimum, these days, resilience is the thing that you need more than ever, certainly as a musician. Perhaps the lyrics do touch a bit on what we’ve been through.”
Andy, Jez and long-term keyboardist, Martin Rebelski briefly hit the road for winter nights in intimate venues during November, performing Doves’ most recognisable singles, deep cuts and new album tracks for fans lucky enough to get tickets. Bringing the set to venues with an average 300-person capacity, the packed shows were the first live dates the band had played since 2019.
Expanding their touring plans to take on the rest of the country over three weeks this year, all dates on Doves’ largely SOLD-OUT Constellations For The Lonely 2025 UK Tour were confirmed as follows:
Any remaining tickets and returns will be available via links hosted on www.dovesofficial.com with fans urged to join the band’s mailing list to be alerted to future touring and festival announcements.
After arriving with two Mercury-nominated albums, Lost Souls (2000) and the chart-topping The Last Broadcast (2002), Doves released their second, successive UK Number One album, Some Cities in 2005 before signing off on an indeterminate hiatus following 2009’s Kingdom Of Rust. Doves returned to playing live inside a decade, first to headline 2019’s Teenage Cancer Trust show at a full-to-capacity Royal Albert Hall and appearing at major festivals throughout that year. Their third No.1 album, The Universal Want, was released in September 2020.
While the first ideas for a follow-up were laid down immediately following The Universal Want’s release, Constellations For The Lonely was written, recorded and produced by Doves over the following three years. The band worked between locations in Greater Manchester, North Wales and Cheshire to complete all ten new tracks.
Constellations For The Lonely is set for release on Fri 14 February 2025 on EMI North in multiple formats, including signed bundles, special edition and standard vinyl, CD, cassette and digital.
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