It began promisingly and ended sublimely, but in between Doves frustratingly failed to soar to the heights of which they’re capable.

This could be put down to a certain rustiness in a band that is only at the early stages of a tour to promote their new album Some Cities. But for a band whose music strives to soar towards a certain sort of bruised transcendence, Doves sounded for long periods on their return to the Olympia Theatre as though they’ve become bogged down by their attempts to sculpt epic, magisterial soundscapes.

The unerring melodic sensibility that made 2002’s chart-topping The Last Broadcast such a landmark rock album — and the first port of call for TV producers looking to soundtrack their Goal of the Month competition — is only fleetingly present on the new opus, which is a more meditative and sprawling affair. Alas, some of this new material lent a sullen, lethargic feel to the show with the band seemingly unable to move up a gear when required.

That said, Doves hit the ground running by opening with a cluster of crowd-pleasing singles, beginning with the awesome percussive drive of Pounding followed by the still irresistible Words and the excellent new single Black and White Town.

The accompanying visual footage of a drab English town contrasted with the Technicolor Manhattan skyline that accompanied New York soon after. Of course, when you’re a globe-trotting rock band with a licence to roam it’s not unusual that you would view your home town in a less flattering light on your return.

There were times when even the singer and bassist Jimi Goodwin looked bored. Each band member seemed to be in a world of his own, getting the job done but without fusing into an intangible larger entity like all the great rock bands do. The exception came right at the end when Goodwin, the drummer Andy Williams and guitarist Jez Williams roused themselves for a magnificent rendition of There Goes the Fear, which acted like a lightning rod, but conversely also showed us what we’d been missing. All things considered, Doves would want to raise their game for the remainder of this tour.

Bristol Colston Hall, tonight; Southampton Guildhall, March 4; Cardiff University, March 5; Exeter University, March 7; Brighton Dome, March 8; Folkestone Leas Cliff Hall, March 10; Norwich UEA, March 11; Cambridge Corn Exchange, March 12; Nottingham Rock City, March 29; London Brixton Academy, March 30 & 31 and into April

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