One Dove's sole album found itself between two stools in a way, partly predicting (along with Massive Attack) the quietly soulful female vocal/moody dance and funk beat combination that came to the fore in later years, but not gaining the attention the band ought to have. Andrew Weatherall handles most of the production aside from the Stephen Hague mixes toward the end, and the shimmering, evocative power of his work on Primal Scream's Screamadelica gets transferred to a much less classic rock-oriented (and arguably more enjoyable in the end) final result. Dot Allison's singing, informed with everything from Siouxsie Sioux's cool clip to Dolly Parton's rich passion (a cover of "Jolene" turned up on an accompanying single), is simply marvelous, while the blend of influences in the musicians' work ranges as well from dub's deep echo to epic metal noise. The latter turns up in spades on the appropriately titled "Guitar Paradise Mix" of "White Love," a great example of the sparkling funk (really!) that the One Dove/Weatherall partnership can create, featured a total of three times on the disc. "Fallen" begins the album on a husky, sensual note, while the skittering, minimal tension of "There Goes the Cure" (buried screams and disco whistles give a sense of a party's ghost) and the mysterious harpsichord/reverb flow of "My Friend" are also well worthy of note. If there's a core winner, though, it's the enveloping emotional punch of "Breakdown," especially the "Cellophane Boat Mix," with its winning piano melody over the funk/dub rhythms evolving into a melancholic orchestration. Allison's delivery on the lyrics -- as well as the heartfelt sorrow of those lyrics at a love gone wrong -- suits the blue mood of the song excellently, as captivating a lead performance as any from the early '90s.
© Ned Raggett /TiVo