Rocktrospectiva: The Shimmering And Acclaimed "Lost Souls" Turns 25

Released on 3 April 2000, "Lost Souls" was the debut studio album by British indie rock band Doves, the album was recorded over a period of several years, following the dissolution of Doves' original musical incarnation as house music act Sub Sub. Lost Souls was a moderate chart success in the UK; the album peaked at number 16, spawning the three singles "The Cedar Room", "Catch The Sun", &  "The Man Who Told Everything" the three charted in the Top 40.

Considered by many to be the best debut album by a British act since Oasis' Definitely Maybe. It was met with positive critical acclaim and was a shortlist nominee for the Mercury Prize in 2000. The album was roundly praised on its release for its blending of claustrophobic intensity and euphoria, the sonic influences from electronic music present in its textures and for being "the perfect after-hours soundtrack.

In the early 1990s, Jimi Goodwin and twin brothers Jez and Andy Williams were producing dance music as Sub Sub. The trio, along with guest vocalist Melanie Williams, had a club and chart hit single with "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" in 1993, reaching #3 on the UK Singles Chart and becoming one of many dance singles to cross over into mainstream popularity in the UK.

In February 1996, on the Williams twins' birthday, the band's recording studio located in Ancoats, Manchester caught fire and burned down, destroying virtually all of the band's equipment and recorded material. In an interview with Excellent Online, Jimi Goodwin said of the fire, "Yeah, we lost tapes, we lost equipment. But we were insured. If we weren't insured, we might not be here now. The only surviving recorded material recovered from the ashes was released as Delta Tapes in February 1998, featuring early versions of later Doves tracks "Firesuite" and "Blue Water", as well as B-side tracks "Crunch" and "Lost in Watts".

Before the fire, however, the band were looking towards a new musical direction. In a 2009 interview with QTheMusic.com, Andy Williams stated that, "As Sub Sub we never made the album we thought we were all capable of. We'd always been in love with the idea of albums as opposed to just singles – which are cool in their way and suit dance music perfectly but we wanted to stretch ourselves and make a statement with a set of songs. So around 1996 we started writing and recording the songs which would finally become Lost Souls. We were for all intent and purposes still Sub Sub (we only called ourselves Doves a week or two before The Cedar Room was released, because we wanted a fresh start and a break from the past)."

During the album recording sessions, the band were facing the prospect of finding a lead singer, but found themselves more than satisfied with bassist Jimi Goodwin's vocals: "I think the key songs for us on Lost Souls were 'The Cedar Room' and 'Break Me Gently', because they were the first songs Jimi sang properly and we realised we needn't go looking outside the band for this 'mythical singer', something our friend and label boss Rob Gretton had been telling us for years," said Andy Williams." And once Jimi started we [Andy and Jez] started singing as well. We took years to get there. He recognized something in us and helped us to share it with the world."

Doves signed with London-based independent record label Heavenly Recordings, and a reissue of the band's debut single "The Cedar Room" was released as the forthcoming album's first single in March 2000. Andy Williams concluded of Lost Souls that, "The best thing was that after all the years of hard work and very testing times we knew we were finally creating the sort of music we had always wanted to ..." The band also dedicated Lost Souls to their late friend and mentor Rob Gretton.

Lost Souls was met with generally positive reviews. Several praised the album, and described the album as a rock record that kept the dance spirit alive, but could also appeal to a pop audience: "Lost Souls was a record that was widely discussed, and people wondered aloud whether its success marked the end of another era of dance music. In truth, it was a record about growing up; about giving up the drugs and the madness of The Haçienda, where the three Cheshire lads met. But because the simmering emotion on songs like 'The Cedar Room' was expressed through guitars rather than synths, in no way did that mean that Doves were taking dance music out the back and burying it in a shallow grave. 

 

Lost Souls Track List:

 

1. Firesuit

2. Here It Comes

3. Break Me Gently

4. Sea Song

5. Rise

6. Lost Souls

7. Melody Calls

8. Catch The Sun

9. The Man Who Told Everything

10. The Cedar Room

11. Reprise

12. A House