For whatever reason, Doves, the band in which Jimi Goodwin sang and played bass alongside the Williams brothers, Jez and Andy, passed me by, or didn't really wind my watch. So the diversity of the music on Goodwin's debut solo effort (the title is Polish for "loner" or even "recluse") was an unexpected delight. Equally that might mean that for died-in-the-wool Doves fans it could turn out a disappointment.
There are some tracks that might fit the band's back catalogue, including the wry (rye?) Oh! Whiskey and the anthemic Hope, while Live Like Ariver recalls their earlier incarnation as Sub Sub. But the more interesting songs are out of different bags altogether, starting with opener Terracotta Warrior, which is based around expertly-tempered crunching kraut- or post-rock chords.
Didsbury Girl and Lonely At The Drop show Goodwin's more lyrical side (somewhat blackly in the latter case) but the killer track is Man V Dingo that sees him channelling both Nick Cave and Franz Ferdinand in an arrangement that probably includes the kitchen sink as well as some excellent brass. It prove that not only does Goodwin have a solo voice, he (and co-producer Dan Austin) know how to build a fine sound.
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