Rock - Four years after the release of their critically acclaimed (and #1 U.K. selling) masterwork Some Cities, the cerebral, U.K. art-rock trio The Doves deliver their long awaited follow up: on The Kingdom of Rust, on via Astralwerks/EMI.

Hailed by UNCUT as the U.K.'s "most innovative rock group", The Doves know they have raised the bar -- and anticipations -- sky high. Less hook-driven than Coldplay or Muse, the Manchester band still have the epicly grandeur chops down, combining exhilarating scope and intricate, sharply defined songs into an intensely hypnotic rush of sound. Recorded at the band's countryside barn over the course of two years, nearly a hundred songs in various states of completion and a camaraderie that comes from playing together for over two decades, Kingdom is predictably big, bold and, well, unpredictable.

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"It comes out of pushing yourself constantly - trying to find new ways to play things," says Dove Jez Williams. "To unlearn in a way- get out of your comfort zone. But we found ways to make it fun still and keep it fresh. When we were 12 or 13 years old we would record live onto old cassette decks and ghetto blasters. I listened back to some stuff and it sounded amazing. So we started doing that again and some of those recordings have been fed into the mixes. We’ve used rough demos and unpolished first takes that had a character as starting points for some things, just to keep pushing- to find a new edge to what we do."

Lead track, "Jet Stream", is an aptly titled thrust of pounding electronic rhythms and soaring melody, a nod, according to the band, to their admiration for Vangelis' soundtrack for the sci-fi classic Blade Runner. First single, the spaghetti-western homage title track, is half stomping pub rocker and half moody, cinematic anthem, all tied together with The Doves' richly textured production notes. Recommended.

The Doves - "Kingdom of Rust"