MTV Article

Even though the Doves have drawn acclaim for their dreamily melancholic debut, Lost Souls, the Manchester, England, band is winging it in North America with its soaring single “Catch the Sun.” “It’s a little more optimistic than the others,” said guitarist Jez Williams, whose twin brother, Andy, plays drums in the Doves. “It’s one of those songs you write where you’re really saying, ‘You can wake up and have a good day rather than a bad day.’ ” Formed from the ashes of early-’90s dance outfit Sub Sub, the Doves are now on their first North American tour. The emotionally uplifting, psychedelic-tinged “Catch the Sun” is poised to help bring Stateside fans into the band’s nest.

“['Catch the Sun'] is a living-for-the-moment kind of track; that’s the vibe of it,” Andy Williams said.

“Just grab and hold onto [the moment]. Acknowledge when life is good, and don’t be blasé,” added singer/multi-instrumentalist Jimi Goodwin. “Shout about when life is good. Catch it and don’t let it go.” Despite their extensive studio skills — proficiencies honed during their studio-centric days in Sub Sub — the Doves said they had a hard time nailing a decent take of “Catch the Sun” — the only song on Lost Souls, which was released in October, that the Williams brothers and Goodwin didn’t produce themselves.

“We recorded that song about six times, and we just couldn’t get it right,” Jez said.

So they sought outside help from Steve Osborne, who has worked with Placebo, Curve and another infamous Manchester band, the Happy Mondays.

“Even though it’s the most instant, plug-in-and-do-it kind of track,” Goodwin said, “we would try and be clever and wanted to subvert it, and went, ‘Oh, it’s too rocky. We need to freak it out,’ and it didn’t want to be freaked out. So we learned the hard way.

“In the end, we just wanted someone who could capture a band playing live, and Steve’s dead good at that.” The kaleidoscopic clip for “Catch the Sun” was shot by director Sophie Muller for the single’s European release last year. The Doves said they’re particularly fond of the video’s inten

sely color-saturated look, even though it was shot on the fly between the band’s U.K. festival appearances.

“That was shot in London last summer. We did it in a day in a room,” Jez said.

“It was the usual, ‘We must make a video … tomorrow,’ ” Goodwin said. “We don’t like that aspect of videos, especially with the amount of money that’s getting thrown around — your money.” “So, [Muller] obviously realized that we ought to just do a performance video,” Jez said.

“The less of us the better, I reckon, and more freaky

stuff,” Goodwin said.