Doves have shared their first new bit of music in 11 years called “Carousels.” The song comes shortly after the 20 year anniversary of their debut album Lost Souls. It still sticks to the pop-rock theme that the group is known for. The subtle yet groovy track is also based around a drum sample by the late great Tony Allen. According to Stereogum, Jez Williams started to work on the song during a trip to Porto, and when the band got back together it was one of the first songs he presented to them; apparently Jimi Goodwin immediately fell in love with its “badass breakbeat.” Andy Williams also spoke about the new song, saying, “There’s something nostalgic within it, looking back to the group’s youth together. It’s a reminiscence of the times that we’d go to places like North Wales on holiday as kids,” A. “Places where you had your first experience of sound systems and music being played really loud.”
The video for “Carousels” was also released and made by Yoni Weisberg. The visual showcases images of cityscapes transforming and deconstructing sync with the song. Check it out below.
The band had announced their reunion in 2018 and performed a special one-off benefit show at the Royal Albert Hall in London on March 29, 2019. The show marked the band’s first performance in 9 years, with their last being in October 2010, a year after the release of their album Kingdom of Rust.