Doves return with ‘Renegade’ and talk new album ‘Constellations For The Lonely’: “It felt like a bad curse was following us”

Doves have made their return with the powerful and brooding new single ‘Renegade’, as well as sharing details of their sixth studio album ‘Constellations For The Lonely’. Check it below, along with our frank interview with the band.

The band have been teasing new material over the last week online and with posters in their native Manchester. Now, they’ve confirmed that ‘Constellations For The Lonely will arrive on Valentine’s Day 2025, as a follow-up their chart-topping 2020 album ‘The Universal Want’ – marking the trio’s first full-length record in 11 years, following 2009’s ‘Kingdom Of Rust’.

However, the comeback was somewhat short-lived when they were forced to pull the tour for the record so that frontman Jimi Goodwin could focus on his mental health. The journey back to find their purpose helped shape the record, as showcased by the emotional and widescreen first single ‘Renegade.

“There was a loose thread that kicked the record off,” Goodwin told NME. “‘Renegade’ was the first thing that we did together for it. In our minds, it’s got a Blade Runner-esque theme. It was inspired by the Roy Batty speech of how nothing lasts forever, you know, ‘I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe’.”

Guitarist Jez Williams agreed, telling us: “This is quite a dark album. We started to write it after we cancelled ‘The Universal Want’ tour, so some of the songs reflect that. We wanted ‘Renegades’ to start with this apocalyptic atmosphere. That’s what felt right for us after such a difficult time. Jimi was with us, but we were trying to make sense of all the mess – and that fed into the album.”

He continued: “We’re living in pretty fucking horrible times, so we wanted to reflect that but give a little hope. When you listen to Neil Young, it feels like he understands you. It’s music that can hold your hand in this dark world. I see this as a future soul album for outsiders. We want you to feel understood.”

Since pulling himself from the road to deal with his mental health struggles and battle his addictions, Goodwin said that he’s currently “getting on great”.

“I create every day. I’m always making music – even in my lowest times, which I’ve experienced,” he admitted, nodding to his hip-hop project Nightjar as well as his with Doves. “Creativity is my rock to cling to.

“I’m full of gratitude about my life and the people I have in it. I’m surrounded by fantastic people who I’ve worried over the years. Not intentionally, but as part of my recovery from substance abuse. I have to realise that I’ve worried my children and partner, I’ve worried my colleagues and my brothers Andy [Williams, drummer] and Jez, our manager.”

Goodwin continued: “I’m just being candid, but now I’m on the right path and in recovery.”

The bassist and singer admitted that he “did a lot of hand-wringing” in making the decision to cancel the tour. “I’m a people-pleaser and I didn’t want to let anyone down,” he said. “I committed to this thing, but it was making me ill to worry about whether or not I’d be match-fit. It wasn’t an easy decision to take, but it was a necessary decision to take.

“If you’re not fit for purpose for your own life and self, then how can you be fit for purpose for your obligations to other people? It’s hard putting yourself first. I felt like I didn’t deserve it. ‘Who am I? I’m nobody; I’m just a person’. You have to respect yourself and love yourself.”

Williams told NME of how the band were “absolutely mortified” to have upset fans in pulling the dates, but that Goodwin’s health took priority and the progress he’s made since has been “amazing”.

“It happens to bands. People have addiction problems and all kinds of shit,” he said. “It’s ongoing and thank god Jimi’s overcoming it. When we had cancel that tour, we thought, ‘This has probably come to its natural conclusion’. That’s how I felt anyway. It felt like a bad curse was following us.

“It was 50/50 about what the future would look like for Doves for a minute. Then we put some time in and started writing again for this album. That’s what saved us.”

Williams said that he too was enjoying the “gratitude” of what the band have and were able to create, particularly given the hunger for the band that remains following the success of ‘The Universal Want’.

“What could we do besides Doves? I can’t imagine a life outside,” he said. “We all have other projects on the go, but Doves is this weird organism that seems to have its own life. The love for the last album led us to believe we had more in us.”

Also feeling “humbled” by the response to ‘The Universal Want’, Goodwin said that the shows they played before the album’s release reminded me of what the band were capable of.

“I thought we’d entered the realms of a nostalgia act,” he confessed. “Before ‘The Universal Want’ came out, we did a series of ‘comeback’ shows – instigated by Chris Yorke, the head honcho at SJM who recently passed away. God rest his soul; he was a big Doves champion. He asked to play Teenage Cancer Trust at Royal Albert Hall, and that started us off playing gigs and got us working on a new record for the first time in nearly 10 years.

“We thought all the fans would want to hear would be ‘There Goes The Fear’ and all the old stuff, but people were receptive to new material. That absolutely blew my fucking mind.”

Despite their next record being just around the corner, Goodwin teased that fans might not have to wait quite so long for another new record.

“We’ve always been notoriously slow, but we’ve been sat on this album for a year,” he told us. “For us, that’s ridiculous. To be sitting on material that was signed off and in the can and the year ago and to only have it coming out next year is a massive achievement for Doves. With ‘The Universal Want’, we came back after that break with renewed passion for each other and feeling blessed that the chemistry was still there.”

Goodwin added: “I’ve got tracks already earmarked, and knowing Andy and Jez they’d have already started making songs too. We’re a going concern again, but we’re just very fortunate that we can take breaks. I’ve been getting as a musician since I was 17, and I was a very fucking lucky young man. I’m not trying to be faux humble, but to get a living out of this game means a lot.”

Check back at NME soon for more of our interview with Doves.

Written, recorded and produced by Doves between Manchester, North Wales and Cheshire – with additional production from long-term collaborator, Dan Austin – ‘Constellations For The Lonely’ will be released on Friday February 14, 2025, via EMI North. Check out the artwork and tracklist below.

‘Renegade’
‘Cold Dreaming’
‘In The Butterfly House’
‘Strange Weather’
‘A Drop In The Ocean’
‘Last Year’s Man’
‘Stupid Schemes’
‘Saint Teresa’
‘Orlando’
‘Southern Bell’

For help and advice on mental health:

• “Am I depressed?” – Help and advice on mental health and what to do next
• MITC – A collective of musician industry therapists
• TONIC Rider – Bespoke training and support for music industry professionals
• Help Musicians UK – Around the clock mental health support and advice for musicians
• Music Support Org – Help and support for musicians struggling with alcoholism, addiction, or mental health issues
• YOUNG MINDS – The voice for young people’s health and wellbeing
• CALM – The Campaign Against Living Miserably
• The Samaritans – Confidential support 24 hours a day

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