'We're Still Here': Doves' Andy Williams on Longevity and 'Constellations For The Lonely'
Tuesday, 18 February 2025
Written by Chris Connor
Born out of the ashes of the early ‘90s dance act Sub Sub and having entered an 11 year recording hiatus between ‘Kingdom of Rust’ and 2020’s ‘The Universal Want’, Doves have become used to figuring out how to go away and come back. Even so, it’s been a rocky road of late for the indie trio as they work towards the release of their latest album ‘Constellations for The Lonely’.
Following the release of ‘The Universal Want’ Doves had planned their largest shows in some time, eventually cancelling them in order to prioritise the mental health of singer-bassist Jimi Goodwin, who has opted not to return to the road. His voice, though, is in full force on the record itself, while upcoming dates will find the band fronted by the Williams brothers — drummer Andy and guitarist Jez — beginning in Glasgow on February 25.
We caught up with Andy to discuss playing some of the band’s favourite live venues, marking 25 years since their stellar debut ‘Lost Souls’ and some of the new sounds the band has tried to incorporate into ‘Constellations for The Lonely’, from psychedelic soul to cinematic flourishes that pay tribute to Vangelis.
There was a bit of a gap between this record and the last one, how have you found restarting Doves after the break?
“Well, I guess we don’t have a restart. We are always, especially me and Jez, tinkering in the studio, but I guess we did have to reassess. There was quite a chequered making of this record. It was challenging at times, but we inevitably always start tinkering in the studio. So, we never feel like restarting Doves. We think about it pretty much every day and if we’re not making music, we’re thinking about why we’re not making music and what we want to do. So, it’s always a continual thing for us.”
How long have these particular songs been in the works?
“Some of them have been around for a while. The song Dreaming has been around for seven years.”
You and Jez share vocals on that one.
“That started in Jez’s central Manchester studio and we couldn’t crack it. We felt it was strong, recorded some parts for it, and then we hit a brick wall with it. So, I had to put it down. We’ve done that quite a lot over the years. We’ve been tinkering on that song, off and on. We put it down for a year or two, do a bit of work on it for a few days every few months and then if it’s not happening, we'll just put it down again.”
That track and some of the others feel more energetic than some of your work. Did you feel that recording it?
“I feel we have always done quite energetic songs as well across our careers. I mean, we’ve always tried to keep the music very varied for an album. So, there is its slow moody stuff, but we do like certain songs with quite a lot of energy. With that song in particular, we love that era psychedelic soul, which we felt we’d never really had a go at, really. It was us attempting to do something different.”
You’ve mentioned a cinematic element on this particular record, too. Blade Runner was referenced. Was Vangelis a big influence on it?
“Yeah, we loved Vangelis. There’s even a little nod to Vangelis at the beginning of Renegade, a little synth sound that is us tipping our hats. It’s such a Vangelis sound.”
The process for this album was a bit different — how do you find your songwriting has evolved over the course of the 25 years?
“To a certain extent. If I’m being brutally honest, we tried to grab Jimi when he was well enough to record. So really, the day-to-day on this album was mostly me and Jez, and then when Jimi was well. Not to say Jimi’s input wasn’t significant, because it was. He brought two songs to the table. Personally, lyric-writing is something I’ve always loved that I’ve progressively tried to spend more time on. But, also, you know, try to get better on the piano. I’m not very good but I can knock chords out, and what’s important to me is to be able to write a song, not to be totally proficient. So, I guess that’s something that has changed over the years for me.”
Thematically, you’re writing about the same kind of things?
“No, I think we have moved on a bit. The song Beautiful in the Butterfly House is our attempt at a murder ballad, believe it or not. A lot of people don’t hear that, but if you listen closely to the lyrics, that’s our attempt. That’s something I’ve never tried before, a subtle thing. But if you read through them you will pick up on it.”
You mentioned Jimi’s input. Some of his contributions were meant to be guide vocals, and they ended up being used in the final record.
“That was for Renegade. He put down a guide vocal, and it’s got pops on the vocal mic, which is a big no-no when you’re recording generally. But he nailed it. He’d just written the lyrics and we’d tinkered a bit with [them]. He threw it down, but we listened back to it a few weeks later, thinking we needed to re-record the vocal, and thought he’d captured something. It’s got pops on, but who cares? What’s more important is the emotion and the intensity of the vocal.”
How do you find Jimi’s vocals across the album?
“He’s put in some fantastic vocals, like Renegade and St Theresa. He brings an authenticity, Jimi, I feel some stuff, you know? He’s lived a life. He brings all that to the table and you can hear it.”
The gigs for this album are quite pared back, with yourself and Jez handling vocals. How have you found playing some smaller venues?
“We did three tiny venues at the end of November. We’ve got some friends playing with us now to help us with stuff. So, it was kind of a road-test to see if this is something we can do, to play without Jimi. He’s fully supportive of what we’re doing now. He knows how much it means to me and Jez. It’s just he’s unable to do it at the moment. So, with those three we wanted to do small venues and reconnect with an audience. They couldn’t have gone better. We loved it. We’re looking forward to getting out there again. We haven’t done a major tour for 15 years.”
“We’re firm believers in working with the cards you’ve been dealt. Me and Jez have always sung on every album since we started. Both of us have always sung live, obviously less so than Jimi. It doesn’t feel totally alien to us. It’s a responsibility for us to take but luckily for us there seems to be a hunger to hear these songs live again. We know we can do them justice. Otherwise, we wouldn't attempt it. Gigs are a communal thing. The crowds make it as much as the band, which became apparent on the three gigs. We were taken aback by the response. Some of these old songs mean a lot to people.”
‘Lost Souls’ is 25 this year. As well as this new record, that’s a monumental thing for you as a band. Do you have any plans to commemorate that at all?
“Not so far as touring, but I’m very pleased that the album seems to mean so much to people. I’m chuffed that we’ve got it. We’re 25 years later, putting out what I feel is a very, very strong album that stands up along with it, really. Considering the struggles and the rest of it, I’m very pleased that we’re still doing what we love and we’re able to do it. So, I feel blessed in a sense. If we weren’t putting out music that we really liked it might be a bit depressing, but it’s the opposite. We’re still here.”
‘Constellations for The Lonely’ is out on February 28 via EMI North.
Doves Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Tue February 25 2025 - GLASGOW SWG3 Galvanizers Yard
Wed February 26 2025 - EDINBURGH La Belle Angele
Thu February 27 2025 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE Boiler Shop
Sat March 01 2025 - LEEDS Beckett University Union
Sun March 02 2025 - SHEFFIELD Leadmill
Tue March 04 2025 - LIVERPOOL O2 Academy Liverpool
Thu March 06 2025 - MANCHESTER Aviva Studios
Fri March 07 2025 - MANCHESTER Aviva Studios
Sat March 08 2025 - BIRMINGHAM O2 Institute
Mon March 10 2025 - NOTTINGHAM Rock City
Tue March 11 2025 - NORWICH Waterfront
Thu March 13 2025 - LONDON O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
Fri March 14 2025 - BRISTOL SWX
Sat March 15 2025 - SOUTHAMPTON Engine Rooms
Mon March 17 2025 - BRIGHTON Chalk
Tue March 18 2025 - OXFORD O2 Academy Oxford
Sat August 23 2025 - HALIFAX Piece Hall
Sun August 31 2025 - BIRMINGHAM Moseley Park
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
