Those 12 years have brought us four pretty damn good albums, but if you’re not up for checking out the whole discography, this should be good for catching up. There are two versions of the compilation, single-disc and multi-disc. The one-disc version has the hits and some other strong choices like “Sea Song” and a new song — the single “Andalucia”. Two other new tracks come with the multi-disc version: “Blue Water” and “Drifter”, which features Cherry Ghost frontman Simon Aldred. The rest of the second disc is made up of b-sides, rarities and alternate versions. Not too shabby….

But there’s more! Disc three has 13 music videos to round off the compilation nicely. And if this really isn’t enough, there’s a free download of Chris Watson’s remix of “Birds Flew Backwards” over at Doves’ MySpace. There, you have to be excited now. Of course, some touring would be the icing on the cake — and they’re off to a decent start. Jimi and the Williams brothers will be appearing at RockNess and Isle of Wight, along with a gig at Thetford Forest sandwiched in between. Keep it up, boys.

The Places Between: The Best of Doves Tracklist:

Disc 1:
01. There Goes the Fear
02. Black and White Town
03. Snowden
04. Here it Comes
05. Words
6. Kingdom of Rust
7. Sea Song
8. Pounding
9. 10:03
10. Catch the Sun
11. Jetstream
12. The Man Who Told Everything (Summer Version)
13. Andalucia
14. Caught by the River
15. The Cedar Room

Disc 2:
1. Blue Water
2. Eleven Miles Out
3. Rise
4. Darker
5. Push Me On
6. Willow’s Song (Bury Version)
7. Valley
8. Northenden
9. M62 Song
10. Drifter
11. Friday’s Dust (Capitol Tower Session)
12. Almost Forgot Myself (Demo)
13. Your Shadow Lay Across My Life
14. The Last Son
15. The Sulphur Man
16. At the Tower (Instrumental Edit)
17. Reprise
18. Ambition
19. Firesuite (Noise Version)

Disc 3 (DVD):
The Cedar Room
Sea Song
Here it Comes
Catch the Sun
Man Who Told Everything
There Goes the Fear
Pounding
Caught by the River
Black and White Town (Director’s Cut)
Snowden (Live Edit)
Sky Starts Falling
Kingdom of Rust
Winter Hill

Doves 2010 Tour Dates:
06/11 – Newport, UK @ Isle of Wight
06/12 – Suffolk, UK @ Thetford Forest
06/13 – Dores, UK @ RockNess

Before anything else, I need to let you all know that I am a Florida boy, born and raised (on the playground, where I spent most of my days). Flying to Seattle and the ensuing trip to Sasquatch was an incredible experience for someone who has never seen mountains before, and there are plenty of them. Driving from Seattle to The Gorge is a trip all on its own. One minute you are on the lush side of the Cascade’s, enjoying the millions of trees engulfing the mountainside. The next minute you are Cascaded (as it were) into the desert. The cold, bleak desert. The trip usually takes about two and a half hours, but with all the eager fans chomping at the bits to get to the campsite on Friday night it was closer to four. Sasquatch was about to begin. This is my story.

Night 1:

After arriving to the campsite at one in the morning, my friends and I set up tents in the pitch dark, not even aware of the beauty that we would wake up to. While the camping grounds at Sasquatch had sold out, no one was turned away. The Gorge was prepared to take anyone that wanted to camp, and there sure were a ton of people. If you’re doing your math right, one in the morning Washington time still feels like four in the morning Florida time, so sleep was definitely in the near future.

Day 1:

With little humidity in the desert, it gets rather cold. Wrapping yourself in numerous blankets seems like a great idea before going to bed, however you immediately regret that decision in the morning when the sun comes up and begins to bake you in the tent. Eager to get into the festival I quickly rushed to the Honey Bucket (which might sound like a delicious chicken restaurant but is most definitely a porta potty). This was a necessity as the public restrooms were few and far between.

After packing up for the day we made the mile or so trip to the Gorge entrance. You can look at pictures all day of this place but nothing will ever be able to capture how gorgeous the Gorge in George really is. With deep plummeting canyons leading down to the blue Columbia River, this is the venue of all venues. It is unrivaled by any competing festival show. After trying to take in everything I finally got around to doing my job, listening to music.

Doves – 2:20 p.m. - This English trio has a lot of sound to offer. Jimi Goodwin (bass) (to the right below) can really sing and belted out numerous songs from their latest effort Kingdom of Rust. Most famous in the States for their song “Black and White Town”, they rose above that song to appeal to any casual listener. With haunting melodies that come off effortlessly, it would be a shame to pass them up if you have the chance.

M.Ward – 3:25 p.m. – I decided to stick around the Main Stage for a while and camped out on the lawn. I found out the reason why it was so easy to get close to the stage for any show I wanted, because the real view is from the lawn. Before Sasquatch, M. Ward wasn’t a name I was particularly gunning for, but the star in my program next to his name suggested I check him out, and they were right. With a ’60s sound and prominent stage presence, he reminded me of a man that could have been famous in the ’60s, and that is a compliment.

Devotchka – 4:30 p.m. – Lets face it, folks… Devotchka knows how to put on a show. When you’re not listening to their anthems in indie movies and sleek car commercials, you see a band that rivals Gogol Bordello in the gypsy punk genre. However, Devotchka is not Gogol, they are Gogol if he decided to stray away from staccato and 32nd notes. The result is contagious.

My Honest Confession: All right this is where you’ll hate me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I am “that guy.” I decided to skip out on Animal Collective to check out the Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job! You may be thinking why? Well, AC is coming to Orlando soon enough.

Tim and Eric – 6:00 p.m. – You either love them or you hate them. Coming out in skin colored jumpsuits, fully equipped with huge testicles (yes even bigger than GWAR’s frontman), Tim and Eric (below, center) jumped right into a song about none other than diarrhea. Performing numerous skits from their show, the two demanded your attention, even if you didn’t feel inclined to give it to them. The only downside in trying to cover four seasons worth of material was the elaborate costume changes. From the back of the stage, a horrible “DJ” whose name is so forgettable his name escapes me now, would take the stage to perform five minutes worth of horrible material. Was he that bad? Well, even Zach Galifinakis, who was standing by the stage was cringing at this guys pathetic attempt at humor. Fortunately, Tim and Eric would come and save the day before you felt like leaving the comfort of the comedy tent for the blazing heat.

Dilemma # 1: Dilemmas are rampant at festivals. I lasted ’til the evening, however. The first? Mos Def or The Decemberists. To get a good spot for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs I went for the Decemberists.

The Decemberists – 7:05 p.m. – My first regret. Although it was a very nice night, not even the beauty of the Gorge could make me like that performance. We get it Colin Meloy, you like concept albums, but do you have to deprive your fans of your entire back catalogue? The Hazards of Love was played in its entirety, and it was entirely too long and boring. Granted I will admit that I have not heard this album in its entirety yet, but it wouldn’t kill the band to play some music from their past, or god forbid, mix it up some.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – 8:30 p.m. – Karen O is hot. Okay, we got that out of the way. Between eight and ten in the evening is the best time to play at the Gorge. The sun setting behind the stage has the ability to make it appear as if it’s floating. On Friday night, the colors were unimaginable and palatable, but in all honesty, it was hard to keep your eyes off the stage — especially given the oddities. A huge eye ball drifted behind drummer Brian Chase as O took the stage, looking like she bought her clothing at a shower curtain liquidation sale. Opening with “Heads Will Roll”, the band got the momentum moving from the start.

The Decemberists should take a cue from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs as Karen O & Co.’s setlist included a little bit for any type of fan. It’s Blitz has been an evolution in the way the Brooklynites make music, and also how they perform it. Karen O has hit 30, and it does show. She’s not drunkenly stumbling around but moving gracefully as if she knows that her music and her own self have matured. Slowing things down, they did a haunting acoustic version of “Maps” that had the whole crowd singing. Just when it appeared like that would be the end, they ripped into a heavy performance of “Y Control”. Relevance isn’t something the band has to worry about, and this performance set that in stone.

Kings of Leon – 10:00 p.m. – I first saw Kings of Leon (below, center) while I was at a taping of the Carson Daly Show years ago. At the time, I wasn’t very impressed with their song “The Bucket”, and even still I’ve yet to come around. However, after all my stale considerations for the band over the years, I find myself in love with the song “On Call”. But still, Kings of Leon, headlining a festival? Kings of Leon, selling out Madison Square Garden? I couldn’t believe it. As much as I disagreed with their new classification, I decided to stay and watch until I didn’t recognize a song or got too bored. Neither happened! After an hour, I realized that I had stuck around for close to 60 minutes of KOL…and enjoyed the hell out of it. Playing songs like [my favorite] “On Call”, “Fans”, their big hit “Sex on Fire”, “Charmer”, and “Use Somebody”, Kings of Leon had a chance to prove to me that they do deserve their new title as headliner.

Click here for Day 2.

All photo support graciously provided by Christopher Nelson and Travis Hay via EAR CANDY.

So where does this leave the trio? Despite the extended hiatus, it seems as though they are still chasing that long ago single, but in the process have managed to leave a little behind. By this, the fourth record, we are left with mixed emotions. On the one hand, it sounds as though we have heard it all before, but on the other, the band manages to throw in a few curve balls.

Such is the case with album opener, “Jetstream”, which sees guitarist Jez Williams taking over the lead vocals, in what is more or less an homage to Kraftwerk. It’s an interesting pick for an opener (and first single) as we are thrust right into the electronic beats that only make this one appearance. The trick works, however, playing off the unexpected for a dramatic send off. Once through, Rust returns to what Doves does best: bleak, personal, guitar driven pop tunes that take full advantage of Jimi Goodwin’s ability to hang onto every last vowel.

Tracks like “Last Son” and “Spellbound” keep the themes for this record deeply autobiographical. Western theatrics are brought out for “House of Mirrors”, which shows their ability to layer in classic country melodies with new wave’s leftovers. It’s their way of stretching out beyond what they have been doing for almost a decade now, throwing out much of the old while letting in the new with caution. Some of the best moments come when they leave the music to speak for itself and abridge the vocals a la “Lifelines”.

Something worth noting is that Rust is lush with wave after wave of different sounds, all which move from sonic structures to playful atmospheric intros and/or interludes (“10:03”). Much of the focus has moved from the vocals to the instrumentals, making the musical aspect of the record feel, at times, larger than life — as if every note is stretched to its full potential.

It’s amazing the range that this band has managed to pick up over the years, even if it feels as though the dramatic nature of the music is overly abused. Each song feels like it would work as the soundtrack to any coming of age story, or even the denouement of an action film. In some respects, this becomes rather grating, almost overwhelming, and even though the album plays well all the way through, from a production standard, you may need to take a break. On the whole, it’s a fresh start for Doves, but one that still may need another go around to fully sink in.

Check Out:

Doves 2009 Tour Dates:
03/12 – Warrington, UK @ Parr Hall
03/13 – Middlesborough, UK @ Empire
03/15 – Glasgow, UK @ ABC
03/17 – Coventry, UK @ Kasbah
03/18 – Portsmouth, UK @ Pyramids
03/19 – London, UK @ The Forum
04/15 – Cambridge, UK @ Cambridge Corn Exchange
04/16 – Brighton, UK @ Brighton Dome
04/17 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy
04/19 – Belfast, IE @ Belfast Ulster Hall
04/20 – Dublin, IE @ Olympia Theatre
04/22 – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowland
04/23 – Edinburgh, UK @ Edinburgh Picture House
04/24 – Leeds, UK @ O2 Academy
04/26 – Manchester, UK @ Academy
04/27 – Newcastle, UK @ Academy
04/28 – Sheffield, UK @ O2 Academy
04/30 – Reading, UK @ Hexagon
05/04 – London, UK @ Brixton Academy
05/05 – Nottingham, UK @ Nottingham Rock City
05/06 – Norwich, UK @ UEA
05/07 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy
05/14 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
05/15 – Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
05/16 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
05/18 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
05/19 – Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theatre
05/21 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
05/22 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
05/23 – George, WA @ Sasquatch! Music Festval
05/26 – Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre
05/28 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theatre
05/29 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
05/30 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre
06/01 – Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus
06/02 – Montreal, QC @ Le National
06/04 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
06/05 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Trocadero
06/06 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
06/07 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues

My lame attempt of humor aside, the Doves’ fourth studio album does look to be worthwhile, the result of some 18 months in a barn-turned-studio in Cheshire, England. Consisting of 11 tracks and produced by longtime collaborator Dan Austin, Kingdom of Dust is described as the band’s “most sonically adventurous, intimate, cerebral, propulsive album to date.” Sound interesting? Go grab an early taste over at Doves.net, where the band is offering a free download of the album’s first single, “Jetstream”. But you better hurry, the offer is good for two weeks only!

As for tour dates, as of now, the Doves’ upcoming itinerary only features stops in the U.K., but one would have to think/hope that will change in the coming weeks.

Kingdom of Rust Tracklisting:
01. Jetstream
02. Kingdom of Rust
03. The Outsiders
04. Winter Hill
05. 10.03
06. The Greatest Denier
07. Birds Flew Backwards
08. Spellbound
09. Compulsion
10. House of Mirrors
11. Lifelines

Doves 2009 Tour Dates:
03/12 – Warrington, UK @ Parr Hall
03/13 – Middlesborough, UK @ Empire
03/15 – Glasgow, UK @ ABC
03/17 – Coventry, UK @ Kasbah
03/18 – Portsmouth, UK @ Pyramids
03/19 – London, UK @ Forum