New Doveman - "Tender Mercies" (And Dove Talks With My Left Hand I Raise The Dead Video Project)

This weekend we witnessed the further Nationalization of Doveman, watching Thomas play a slowly swelling set of Acrobat + new LP With My Left Hand... tunes, with a backing band partially comprising Andrew, Bryce, and Bryan of the National. Beautiful set, swelling and swirling as you'd expect with the men of the National filling out the sound, but today we shift the focus back to Dove's signature, lush tones on his beautiful new album. We've already had a listen of the bittersweet "Chasing Clouds" (a title fit for describing the Doveman sound, really); today it's the equally dreamy, bottled wisps of the standout "Tender Mercies." Light the candelabra and set it on repeat for a beautiful loop...

Doveman - "Tender Mercies" (MP3)

Beirut may have hooked up with the La Blogotheque crew for live vids of The Flying Club Cup, but Thomas has done Zach one better, making proper videos for the entire With My Left Hand... LP available online and in time for the record's release (out now on Brassland). There's three places to enjoy the cinematic project: the Brassland label's page, Doveman's site, or at withmylefthandiraisethedead.com.

We've already had a look at the hypnotic "Chasing Clouds" video; lovely stuff, but we had no idea what those spinning things were. So we asked Thomas, and he came back with insight into the entire project, vid-by-vid:

[Pic of Doveman w/ the National @ MHOW 10/13/07]

These videos were made by my brother, Daniel Ezra Caldwell, aka Fast Boy, who sells wooden bike fenders, takes photographs of his dog, his girlfriend, and his bikes, and is an actual superhero. There is a video for each song on the album, and all but one of the videos were shot in my apartment in Harlem, or in his, which is next door. They were all made quite quickly -- I don't think that more than a few hours was spent on any of them.

Here's Thomas's clip-by-clip commentary:

"The Sunken Queen"
I make a martini with Hendrick's gin, garnished with cucumber, and give it to Ezra. I also recommend Hendrick's muddled with cucumber and lime with a bit of sugar, or mixed with tonic and garnished with cucumber.

"Tender Mercies"
I'm sitting in a white suit that I bought for touring with Antony earlier this summer. The first dancer is Marian, the second is Ezra. They are both dancing to Biggie Smalls.

"Sunrise"
That watch was given to my great-grandfather by the legendary pianist Rudolf Serkin.

"Chasing Clouds"
This was filmed in a barn in my hometown of Putney, Vermont. Strange contraptions lurk in barns.

"Ghost"
That's Dougie Bowne, Doveman's drummer.

"Castles"
Ezra, walking up the staircase in his apartment. He originally filmed this as an elegy for and tribute to our friend Don Sunseri.

"Fireworks"
Ezra, on his couch.

"Happy"
Dougie again.

"Secret"
We end where we began: with a Hendrick's martini.

With My Left Hand I Raise The Dead is out now on Brassland. Doveman has but one CMJ show: 4PM on 10/20 upstairs at Pianos (the Brooklyn Vegan day party, which also includes Marla Hansen, Shudder To Think man Craig Wedren, Fiery Furnaces' Erik Friedlander, and iPhone jingle dude Orba Squara). Check the flier here.

Posted at 1:01 PM
Tags: Doveman