Hailing from Manchester, the two bands share similar pop-rock sounds, leaning heavily on melancholy lyrics. However, the Doves didn’t start out that way. During their early years, the trio, then known as Sub Sub, scored a handful of dance hits, such as “Ain’t No Love (Ain’t No Use).”

Then in 1996, an electrical fire destroyed their recording studio. Three years’ worth of recording and hard work went up in flames. Instead of packing it in, the resilient members changed their band name and musical direction. As the Doves, the band stripped away their reliance on computers and synthesizers and traded it all in for acoustic guitars.

Their record label debut, Lost Souls, helped earn the Doves a Mercury Prize nomination in 2000 and their forthcoming sophomore release, The Last Broadcast, is already generating a buzz. The Last Broadcast is due out April 29 in the U.K. and June 4 in North America.

Elbow continue to support their debut album, Asleep In The Back, which was released last spring (2001) in the U.K. and in January in the U.S. They’ve just come off a tour supporting Pete Yorn and will be on all of the Doves dates, except June 1 and 8.