Doves: 'Kingdom Of Rust'

When guitar bands reel off a load of "it's all about the music" clichés, the results are usually tepid, dreary affairs. You know the drill: self-indulgent solos, meaningless lyrics and meandering MOR melodies. Doves, without doubt the least glamorous band ever to secure two number one albums, should by rights fit snugly into this category. Frontman Jimi Goodwin could never have graced a Smash Hits cover, while his bandmates the Williams brothers are two distinctly ordinary-looking blokes who could almost have fallen into the recording studio after a heavy night at their local. But despite all of this, Doves are anything but average. Three albums into the career, they've reached the status of indie national treasures and this fourth record promises to be their crowning glory.

Four years in the making, Kingdom Of Rust wasn't the easiest album to make if recent interviews with the band are to be believed. Not that it's noticeable mind, as Kingdom segues perfectly with 2005's Some Cities, containing 11 tracks of blustery, widescreen rock. However, the real joy of Kingdom, like most of Doves' back catalogue, comes with repeated listens. They may appeal to the same demographic who enjoy the singalong pleasantries and platitudes of U2 and Coldplay, but there's a subtlety to the Manchester three-piece that their rivals lack. Comparisons with Elbow's Seldom Seen Kid album may seem a little crass, but they're appropriate here, if only for the fact that both bands appear to have reached a creative peak with their fourth album.

Album closer 'Lifeline' is Doves' finest achievement to date - heart-breaking, euphoric and humongous are just a few adjectives that spring to mind. "Somebody's giving in, but I'm not," howls Goodwin during the crescendo, managing to sound both forlorn and defiant in the same hearty growl. The track is destined to be used on a million TV montages - bets are already off that it accompanies a reality TV winner's 'best bits' at some point this year - so cherish it while you can, before you're forced to associate it with a washed-up soap star eating grubs in the jungle. Elsewhere, the band have replaced the Northern Soul twang of Some Cities with dance influences. 'Jetstream' has a Krautrock-staccato rumble, 'The Outsiders' is a towering rock track with squelching bass, and 'Compulsion' is a punk-funk number that's as close to a Sub Sub reformation as we're ever likely to get.

Elsewhere, it's business as usual, with Goodwin's phlegm-packed vocals accompanied by swirling, cinematic epics ('Kingdom of Rust'), blissful flourishes ('Winter Hill') and infectious folky guitars ('Spellbound'). Reviews of this album can only brush across its beautiful weaved layers and if it isn't on most rock fans' Best Of '09 lists come the end of the year, we'll eat an entire hat shop. There's nothing fancy or frilly about Doves' presentation. They're never going to be papped outside the Groucho with one of The Saturdays on their arm. But if they keep releasing albums like this, then quite frankly, who cares?