Somewhere in Wisconsin, it’s said, there’s a town called Doveland. People claim their grandparents lived there and even keep souvenirs as proof, yet it doesn’t appear on any map and almost certainly never existed. This town is the starting point for ’s sixth album, which feels like a rather fitting inspiration for a band who have spent more than 15 years chasing sounds nobody else was quite making.

The record isn’t about the town itself, as such. Drummer initially imagined a road movie in which a woman hitchhikes across the US after finding a postcard of Doveland. This never materialised, of course, but its sense of journey and displacement found a place of its own in the music. Whereas the four-piece’s last album, 2023’s ‘Off Planet’, was sprawling, electronic and collaboration-heavy, ‘Doveland’ strips things back a little for vintage Django Django art-pop-rock.

Grief is the album’s undercurrent. Maclean lost his sister and bassist Jimmy Dixon lost his father while the album was being made, lending a sort of poignancy to the more reflective moments on the LP. Opener ‘Meteorite’, Dixon’s personal portrait of his father as a star burning out, has a mellow, acoustic quality, while ‘Cameos’ feels like a step back to the band’s 2012 self-titled debut album. ‘Still Life’ floats with blissful falsetto, while ‘Little Me’, which features , is probably the album’s rawest moment; a touching letter to Baker’s younger self.

‘Year Of The Snake’, meanwhile, came out of Maclean’s grief and feels enchanting, conjuring up images of ice and fog, while ‘So Heavy’ is a jittery piece of nocturnal noir.

‘Feel Alright’, featuring , closes the record with a distinctly 1960s swing, sounding almost like sunshine breaking through cloud. After so much shade, it arrives like a promise that everything will be alright by morning. A rather uplifting finish, it’s all the better for it.

‘Doveland’ finds a restless band slowing down to make their most personal album yet. Maclean calls it their first “grown-up” record, and it’s certainly one of their most affecting albums. It might not instantly grip you like some of their previous output, but it’s quietly compelling in the way it gradually opens up, leaving a lasting impression.

7/10