[.ca] Lost Sides

From Amazon.co.uk:
Having only released two albums, it's a sign of the Manchester trio Doves' undeniable talent that they had enough solid material in the vaults to make Lost Sides, this two-disc compilation of B-sides and remixes, worth every penny. Released to coincide with a state-of-the-art DVD retrospective (Where We're Calling From), it does seem a little early for such a flood of nostalgia, coming only three years after their debut album, Lost Souls, flirted with victory at the Mercury Music Prize awards. Tracking the underbelly of the Doves' singles catalogue, disc one is laced with class-A marvels such as the brooding anthem "Darker" and the shimmering fairy-tale ambience of "Zither" from the "Cedar" EP. Remixes may well be as unfashionable as B-sides these days, but thankfully Jim Goodwin, Jezz and Andy Williams are blessed with a noble disregard for trend. By employing the likes of Echoboy to deftly brutalise "Words" and Four Tet to deliver a sublime drum & base transformation of "M62", Doves have delivered an album of off-cuts that will delight fans while humbling their peers. --Chris Barrett

Not lost:
In the vast world of Britpop, like any other music sector the best-known bands are usually the most-hyped ones (read: Coldplay). But if the world were just, one of the most famed bands would be the Doves, makers of strange, eerie and melancholy rock. And "Lost Sides" gives us whatever little tidbits didn't belong on their albums. B-sides are usually considered songs that didn't cut the mustard, and have to be cobbled together with other B-sides. Not so with The Doves, in their collection of rarities, remixes and B-sides. It's not phenomenal, but it's a good collection of Doves' odds and ends. The first disc includes some good B-sides and mixes, such as the electro-psychedelic "Crunch," magnificent "Darker," piano-rocking "Hit the Ground Running" and magnificent "Valley." A few are not quite on the level that one expects the Doves on, but it hits the mark more often than it misses. The second disc contains seven remixes of various "Lost Broadcast" songs; they are, thankfully, not merely adding electronic mishmashes to the existing songs. Instead, they just enhance the preexisting songs, and give them a new edge that lingers on in your mind when you listen to the originals. "Lost Sides" couldn't really be mistaken for a regular Doves album; at times you can practically hear the seams where the songs were patched together. There's no cohesion. That isn't to say it's bad, it just sounds like what it is, a B-sides/rarities album. Certainly the quality is far higher than many B-side albums, and the production is smooth and sleek. The psychedelic edge, melancholy lyrics and sort of otherworldly sound are still firmly in place in "Lost Sides." Here and there they stray into different turf ("Crunch," for example), but always come back to their core sound. They even dabble in a some strong classical instrumentation, giving a stately spin to their alt-rock sound. "Lost Sides" is not the place to start for non-Doves fans, but those who already love the band will devour this surprisingly solid collection of remixes, rarities and B-side versons. A nice if fragmented collection.

• Break Me Gentle (Incidental)
• Darker
• Your Shadow Lay Across My Life
• Meet Me at the Pier
• Down to Sea
• Crunch
• Zither
• Valley
• Northenden
• Hit the Ground Running
• Willow's Song
• Far from Grace