Doves / The Magic Numbers

The great bands always seem to make it look effortless, like the easiest thing in the world. At a sold out show tonight expectation was high not only to witness the Doves play out their third album Some Cities, but also to digest the hyped new band The Magic Numbers. Both bands didn't fail to deliver, managing to churn out a gorgeous melodic racquet.

Chasing that endless horizon of pop perfection, The Magic Numbers looked like the Mammas and Papas but playing like The Band, channelling every major pop influence from the Twentieth Century. Their songs recalled Buddy Holly, part Fleetwood Mac and part hidden gems from the US Cherry Twister. Full of expression and boy/girl harmonies, their lyrics of love and confusion were balanced with a great deal of simplicity. This was a European band with a San Franciscan heart.

Tonight Doves sound like a force to be reckoned with, confidant, unchallenged and in the prime of their game. It seems as though they harness this wall-to-wall energy of the crowd and channel it into their tunes.

Lead singer Jimi Goodwin is not a man of many words but when he decides to speak at the end of tracks you want to gain insight into his world, how he possibly fits this much melancholy, moodiness and melody into a two hour set.

Yet a band of this stature isn't afraid to play its back catalogue, they recognize the worth of their aging tracks. Especially when you hear anything played off their debut album Lost Souls. Tracks like the brilliant Cedar Room and apocalyptic Here It Comes sound just as good now if not better than when they first started playing live.

Doves finish off their set with a wonderful rendition of 'There Goes the Fear' dedicated to their support band proudly exclaiming 'We're Friends Now', and the crowd erupts into a dance and roar. Tonight has certainly reinforced that this gorgeous racquet will always be welcomed into a sometimes stale and cynical industry. Because it's great music and that will always last.

FUTURE GIGS