Cue The Doves – Architectures of the Atmosphere (CD)

The opening instrumental track, “Majestic Twelve” really shows Cue The Doves as a band that has a lot to say. The first track is more of an introduction of the styles that will be present throughout the CD. “Sphere of the Abyss” is a track that really gets individuals thinking; the style is much more rooted in the alternative rock of the early nineties, even as the vocals come forth in a very “emo” style. This style is smoothed out considerably when Cue The Doves come into “An Astronomer’s Ellipse”, but there are still miles between the rock-based style of the guitar and drums and the much more high-soaring vocals of the triumvirate of vocals that are dominant during the track.

Creating a number of distinct layers for “An Astronomer’s Ellipse”, Cue the Doves no doubt grab a number of listeners through their smart defusing of the situation. Another strong piece of Cue the Doves has to be their short attention span, manifested in the quick runtime of a number of the tracks on “Architectures of the Atmosphere”. This means that individuals do not have to continue listening into a track for too much longer if there is little appeal; when the band moves to “The Red Planet Falls” there seems to be a coalesce of styles into creating something that screams “we are Cue The Doves”.

It only took the band the vast majority fo the CD, but considering that the band was only working with the current lineup for a few months before committing their songs to disc, this is a site to behold. The emotive content of tracks like “Peregrine Mountain: The Aftermath” are only supported by the progressive rock style present during the riffs on the track and the related vocals. Most of the bands that come from a geographic area seem to reflect at least in a passing sense some aspect of the scene that had preceded them. In Cue The Doves’ case, there are no hints of Husker Du or The Replacements, but something that is distinct from anything that has happened before in the frozen tundra of Minnesota. “Hallucinations” keeps the interesting sound of “Architectures of the Atmosphere”, as the band begins to end this disc. A nice extension of the same brand of rock of The Beautiful Mistake (the band contains one member of that act), Cue The Doves nonetheless forge forward on a track that is all their own.

Top Tracks: Peregrine Mountain: The Aftermath, The Red Planet Falls

Rating: 6.0/10

Cue The Doves – Architectures of the Atmosphere / 2006 Dead Letter / 10 Tracks / http://www.cuethedoves.com / http://www.deadletterrecords.com / Reviewed 07 March 2006

[JMcQ]