Taking Sides: Coldplay or Doves?

Based on what I've heard so far Id say Coldplay actually. I'm prepared to believe Doves have some good tunes cos anyone who wrote "Aint No Love" can't be too awful - but I've not come across them yet.

I've always been a defender of Coldplay. If you find the prospect of straightforward, epic, heartfelt songs a little dull, naturally you will hate them, but they are the masters of their craft. Don't believe the reviews that say the new one is a massive leap on from the first one, though. Their basically around the same standard - plenty of nice, graceful acoustic songwriting, which is good if you're in the mood for something undemanding. The Uncut review said "A Rush of Blood..." was possibly the best British album since OK Computer. This sort of talk is excessive, and probably makes non-fans hate Coldplay even more.

Doves versus Coldplay? It's a tie...

If I had to pick based on who has a higher tally of very good songs to date it would have to be Coldplay; if I had to pick based on which has the true potential to become a very good band I'd say (The?) Doves.

I guess if I had a gun to my head I'd plump for Coldplay on tunes alone. But...that Chris Martin - what a ninny. He is the absolute ultimate mimsy milksop mummy's boy ineffectual git isn't he? At least Jimi Goodwyn's got a bit of...oomf.

i get doves and my morning jacket here at slim's for $21.50....score!!!!

loved the first doves...the second was ok...hated the first coldplay...don't hurt me but strangely i love the second coldplay

Perhaps crediting Pearl Jam with more creative flair than they're capable of, but not an enturely unreasonable assessment.

I only like one of the above 4 acts - guess which?

But Coldplay sold a million "Parachutes" here in the US, so they must be doing something right.

FWIW, I saw Doves and My Morning Jacket tonight for $17.

A - Got a decent singer. Jimi Whatshisface has possibly THE dullest voice in a rock band ever.

B - Stopped having choruses that go "chung chung chung chung chung chung chung chung" in a really dull way. Ditto Coldplay, actually. In much the same way that mediocre England teams always revert to playing long ball when they run out of ideas, mediocre British bands, especially of the post-Radiohead/Oasis variety, always revert to going "chung chung chung chung chung chung chung..."

C - Dispersed with all the overblown arrangements - ie the opening of the Sulphur Man. They don't sound grandiose, they sound empty.

D - Stopped sounding like Simple Minds on occasions.

But the Doves HAVE written Sea Song, The Man Who Told Everything, The Last Broadcast, Satellites, Pounding and There Goes The Fear, and for that I will forgive everything.

i still haven't quite worked out why it is i like them so much -- i can even take the "emo" lyrics of "there goes the fear", which from any other band i think would make me want to punch myself in the stomach until i vomit. i don't like ANY of the bands placed in the same arena. the closest i get is that i think that some travis choons are nice.

to not like them is to not like the cream of conventional guitar-orientated folk-tinges blues-tinged noise-tinged pop-tinged eclectic lovingly crafted thoughtful relevant contemporary music...full stop.

stadium indie would be a good description, but they're a good thousand miles away from Dave Matthews AND a few hundred from Coldplay themselves - equidistant from U2 and the Stone Roses

How to draw a line between them?

Ronan - I think I might have asked you to elaborate on this before, but with the exception of There Goes The Fear I don't really hear it... do tell more.

looks like a trifecta to me.

many years later ...

answer : doves

Yup. Lost Souls and The Last Broadcast are both very good records - I lost interest in them a little after that.

i once had a driving holiday with bh and the only cds i took was doves.
it was absolutely brilliant.

I like the first four Coldplay albums fine. I like the first two Doves albums, plus b sides, a lot.

i like the doves' mellow atmospheric stuff with glockenspiels and rhodes piano and stuff. the songs aren't really that great but their sound can be tremendous. haven't heard anything past the first three albums.

coldplay are pretty good, the guy's voice is a bit much, but parachutes is a really solid album, same with rush of blood (not a fan of "the scientists", tho, blech). don't know the other albums but the singles i've heard sound good

The frustrating thing about Coldplay is that they can pull off something like 'Chinese Sleep Chant' as if to say "look, we can do this! look!" and then they fall back on the most inane shit.

Strangely, you can get most of Doves' back catalogue for a quid at Poundland.

Coldplay's development reads a bit like this:

Parachutes: "We want to be Radiohead circa The Bends"

A Rush of Blood to the Head: "Oh no, Thom Yorke doesn't like us. But that's okay, because we've bought some Echo & the Bunnymen records and hired a stylist."

X&Y: "We now want to be U2. But that's okay, we've thrown in some Peter Saville-esque artwork for the snobs. I have a Hollywood wife and Kraftwerk let me rip off one of their songs, so fuck off."

Viva la Vida: "So after saying we were going to take a break, like U2 did, we've started working with Brian Eno, like U2 did."

Mylo Xyloto: "It's not cool to be a guitar band now, so we now want to be a pop band. Get Rihanna on the phone. But wait! We're still working with Brian Eno and Anton Corbijn, like U2 did."

Ghost Stories: "Oh no, my Hollywood wife and I have decided to consciously uncouple. I guess this gives us angle to sell our new record. We're working with Avicii now, you know."

A Head Full of Dreams: "Hey kids, we're a legit pop band now... hey! Hey! Buy our record, Beyonce's on it... guys? Guys!?!"

Pretty much.

Doves >>>> Coldplay.

also that post might be my very first on ILM. i know i joined in 2005.

Doves obvs

surely its time for Doves to come back.

vinyl reissues at least

https://www.discogs.com/Doves-Lost-Souls/release/884265

where i was going on and on about doves recently on here? some thread...

they never went away for me!

nor I.
but I would love more of their driving drums and melancholy vibes.

Those first two Doves albums and bsides are awesome.

I find the premise of this thread very rude to Doves

some people tricked me into listening to the first coldplay album by comparing it to talk talk. i killed those people and threw their bodies in the river.

Appropriate.

coldplay have better songs

Alas, now you too must be murdered.

this isn't a question - it's doves obviously

ned i'm reporting you to the FBI

Just genulolled at Scott's post.

It's Doves, by a country mile, obvs.

chinaski is my main man

Trying to think of a band I would choose Coldplay over. Struggling.

whut?

Hoobastank! Sna delivers

yo rip is that the wrong thread>

some people have a problem with the vocals but i think they're kinda perfect for the vibe. they're from manchester, right? dreary, dark manchester? so, the singer is the dreary guy trying to break through to the sun and the clouds and the rainbows! or maybe he could be better, i don't know. they work for me.

i can't tell you how many times i've played lost souls. its perfect record store music. i can play it all day long.

it should be known that my view of england is firmly set in 1979...

I'm surprised at how many good Doves remixes exist, since the usual number of good rock band remixes is 0

i just played lost souls at work and then put on second toughest in the infants and it totally works vibe-wise. keeps me in the same zone.

now play Vida la Vida and report back

I would love to hear something new from Doves. The last affiliated thing I remember from them was Jimi Goodwin's Odludek, but that was back in 2014. And it was pretty underwhelming, unfortunately.

I'm surprised at how many good Doves remixes exist, since the usual number of good rock band remixes is 0

hence the second cd of their b-sides comp, lost sides, was all about the remixes.

I would love to hear something new from Doves

we are not alone.
I tweeted such a desire, and there is even a hashtag/twitter account about this very thing.

Coldplay were very good live during rush

That record is way too enmeshed in my teenage love years tho for me to hear it objectively

I like Doves ... but I don't get the hope that people have that they might reform (ie. that hashtag/Twitter thing).

took me by surprise when I found out as well.

i'm trying to think if i've EVER been excited to hear that a group got back together after years of being defunct....

oh wait Celtic Frost. but that might be it! and they actually did surpass all my expectations so i was right to be excited.

I like Doves ... but I don't get the hope that people have that they might reform (ie. that hashtag/Twitter thing).

For the Twitter illiterate among us, please enlighten.

Scott, do you get many on the spot sales from playing Doves in store?

*For the Twitter illiterate among us, please enlighten.*

Oh, just that there have been social media campaigns urging them to reform. If I'm honest, I assumed that they were reforming and it was part of a publicity campaign.

I had a few doves albums like 10 years ago and I put on “the sulfur man” yesterday and man was it turgid

Scott, do you get many on the spot sales from playing Doves in store?

Doucheplay or Bores
Like deciding between a sustained minor annoyance or just being bored

Calstars probably otm

some people have a problem with the vocals but i think they're kinda perfect for the vibe.
they're from manchester, right? dreary, dark manchester?
so, the singer is the dreary guy trying to break through to the sun and the clouds and the rainbows!
or maybe he could be better, i don't know.
they work for me.

thank you scott for this.
it perfectly summarises my feelings re the vocals.
for years, despite the fact i listened to the albums a lot, I was totally 'bloody hell, this is miserable',
and then the clouds opened and I got it.

as explained earlier, I still have issues listening to DOVES.
that driving holiday was insanely perfect.
and so, there are times that I get overly emotional when they hit their groove.

doves back! single's good! tony allen sample!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9a239ZI3iYI

That's pretty good. Good video, too. Does Doves not have its own thread?

Took me a minute but there are so many nice details in there. I expected no less.

Vocals sound like someone being strangled

enh, it's passable for doves. hard to believe it's been a deacde since kingdom of rust. definitely interested to see what a comeback lp from them will be like.

also this seems like as good of a time as any to bring up my favorite doves song and what i feel was one of the most unjustly ignored singles of the 2000s:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McVDX4dNBp0

also has a very relevant vibe for present day, imo.

and finally, 'black and white town' sucks.