Hear Doves’ Kinks-Inspired New Song ‘Broken Eyes’

Ahead of the September 11th release of the first Doves album in 11 years, the reunited trio has shared one more single from The Universal Want, “Broken Eyes.”

The guitar-driven track was among the first Doves worked on upon getting back together in the studio in 2017.

“We nailed it amidst the enthusiasm of first playing together again,” Andy Williams said in a statement. “You can overthink and overcomplicate things, but sometimes need to step back and say ‘that’s the heart of the song, right there.’ The rest of The Universal Want has got more eclectic and allows a song as immediate as ‘Broken Eyes’ to be on there.”

“It’s like a Ray Davies tune,” Jimi Goodwin added. “Our version of something from The Village Green Preservation Society, but the four-chord cycle also goes back to our beginnings and [2000 single] ‘Catch the Sun’. It’s a bittersweet song, connecting with the way we perceive people, but also ourselves and our anxieties.”

Doves previously shared “Carousels,” “Prisoners” and “Cathedrals of the Mind” from The Universal Want, the band’s first LP since 2009’s Kingdoms of Rust. “It was important, as it has been and will be for Doves. We’re always looking under rocks to see what’s there,” Williams told Rolling Stone of the new album. “Can we walk through that door? Does this sound reflect what’s now and who we are? How will it make other people feel, to be made to care?”