DOVES is playing with religion in their brand new single ‘Saint Teresa’ after just announcing the release date for their new album ‘Constellations For The Lonely’, out on February 28. This will be the band’s first album since their 2020 release ‘The Universal Want’ and will mainly touch the subject of lead singer Jimi Goodwin lapsed-catholicism.
The Cheshire band’s new single focuses on the story of 16th century nun and reformer Teresa of Ávila whose burial, pre-canonisation, was interrupted resulting in several of her body parts being removed and taken to locations in Rome, Paris, Lisbon and elsewhere. A peculiar end put to honour in the lyrics of the song “Her fingers are in Avila / Her jawbone is in Rome / Saint Teresa / With your body in different places / You truly are without a home”.
‘Saint Teresa’ is the third single out of the new album to be released, following ‘Cold Dreaming’ and lead single ‘Renegade’.
In a talk with NME, guitarist Jez Williams shared: “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. 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.”
Set to go on tour this year for the first time in 15 years, the Mancunian band shared recently that their front man would not be joining. They said Goodwin was “stepping back from live to focus on his wellbeing” and added: “Mental health has always been central to Doves and we fully support him in his decision.”
The rockers unfortunately had to cancel part of their last tour in 2021 due to Goodwin’s mental health struggles. Their 2025 tour will hit the road this February and March and will see the band visit 15 different venues across the UK. Tickets are now available via Ticketmaster.
