Elbow | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Cinematic British rock quintet Elbow rose to public consciousness with their acclaimed 2001 debut Asleep in the Back. Boasting an orchestral sound, Elbow injected a wider range of emotions into their music than most of their guitar-based British peers at the time. While their first three outings established them as significant players on the U.K. scene, it was their sprawling fourth LP, The Seldom Seen Kid, that cemented their status, winning the 2008 Mercury Prize and setting a precedent within the band for self-production which would inform their approach on subsequent albums like 2011s Build a Rocket Boys! and 2014s The Take Off and Landing of Everything, the latter of which became their first U.K. chart topper. Along the way, Elbow collected Brit and Ivor Novello awards and their music was featured heavily in the 2012 London Olympic Games, where they performed during the closing ceremony. Released in 2017, their seventh album, Little Fictions, also reached number one on the British charts. Vocalist Guy Garvey, drummer Richard Jupp, organist Craig Potter, guitarist Mark Potter, and bassist Pete Turner all met during the early 90s while attending college in Bury. After moving several miles south to Manchester proper, the band went through a couple of developmental stages before attracting the interest of Island Records, which signed the group in 1998. Island was bought out by Universal several months later, though, and Elbow found themselves dropped from the label as a result. After a partnership with EMI also dissolved, the guys linked up with local independent label Uglyman and released two EPs, Newborn and Any Day Now. The acclaimed EPs gained the band a contract with V2, which released 2001s equally tipped Asleep in the Back. The record was short-listed as a nominee for 2001s Mercury Prize and was issued in the States in early 2002. Cast of Thousands, which appeared in 2004, proved to be a strong, critically acclaimed follow-up. Leaders of the Free World, inspired by political events and behavior in the media, was released in fall 2005, with The Seldom Seen Kid following in 2008. Although all three of Elbows past albums had enjoyed significant popularity in the U.K., The Seldom Seen Kid was the bands first album to go multi-platinum, eventually selling over one million copies and winning the 2008 Mercury Prize. Writing sessions for a new album began in 2010, and Build a Rocket Boys! was released one year later, followed in 2012 by Dead in the Boot, a collection of B-sides and non-album cuts. That summer, not only did the groups ambitious, especially written track "First Steps" serve as the theme to the BBCs coverage of the London Olympics, but Elbow also played two songs at the closing ceremony of the games, which helped to further bolster sales of their back catalog. Recording sessions for a sixth studio album -- eventually titled The Take Off and Landing of Everything -- took place at Peter Gabriels Real World Studios in Wiltshire in late 2012 and were completed in their own Salford studio the following year. Following the January release of the single "New York Morning," the album appeared to strong reviews in March 2014 and became their first album to debut at the top of the U.K. charts; it also became their highest-charting album in the U.S., peaking at 83. Elbow released an EP called Lost Worker Bee in July 2015, after which the group took a brief hiatus. During this time off, Guy Garvey released a solo album entitled Courting the Squall in the autumn of 2015 and drummer Richard Jupp left the group in March of 2016. Elbow returned to action in February 2017 with Little Fictions, which was, like every album since The Seldom Seen Kid, produced by Craig Potter. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 18 Title: The Newborn EP Released: 2000-08-07 Tracks: 5 Duration: 21:53 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Newborn (07:32) 2 Kisses (02:07) 3 Bitten by the Tailfly (05:13) 4 None One (03:44) 5 Newborn (Radio Edit) (03:15) |
 | Album: 2 of 18 Title: The Any Day Now EP Released: 2001-01-23 Tracks: 4 Duration: 15:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Any Day Now (05:55) 2 Wurzel (03:46) 3 Dont Mix Your Drinks (02:13) 4 None One (03:14) |
 | Album: 3 of 18 Title: Asleep in the Back Released: 2001-05-03 Tracks: 12 Duration: 1:05:48 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Any Day Now (06:17) 2 Red (05:11) 3 Little Beast (04:15) 4 Powder Blue (04:30) 5 Bitten by the Tailfly (06:16) 6 Newborn (07:35) 7 Don’t Mix Your Drinks (03:16) 8 Presuming Ed (Rest Easy) (05:26) 9 Coming Second (04:56) 10 Can’t Stop (04:36) 11 Scattered Black and Whites (05:29) 12 Vum Garda (07:55) |
| Asleep in the Back : Allmusic album Review : Elbow fiddles with a battery of widescreen dynamics and slight prog rock tendencies, delivering an epic debut of Manchester miserablism that will likely gain comparisons to fellow Mancunian band Doves (rightfully) and Coldplay (wrongfully). Like Doves, Elbow has enough supple shadings and tasteful textures to hold interest without vocals. However, where you have dance producers at the core of Doves, you have a highly emotional songwriter at the core of Elbow. Despite constantly dipping into an overflowing well of sonic tricks (the non-wank variety), each of Guy Garveys songs would be able to survive with a lone acoustic providing accompaniment. Judging from Garveys rough-hewn voice, he could be forgiven for sinking into a misery-addled torpor; thankfully, thats not the case -- given enough instrumental prodding from his cohorts, Garveys voice can soar and seethe with the best of them. Tally these qualities and you have a record that glides above the host of bands who prattle aimlessly about their pin cushion-frail souls. After all, Asleep in the Back is more about getting through and sustaining than it is flat-out moping or asking for a hug. The tempos might not ever exceed mid-level, and half of the songs might exceed five minutes, but the record is anything but a difficult listen or tough to wade through. When the acoustic strumming, piano twinkles, liquid basslines, and muted horns are this engaging and well arranged, its difficult to wring yourself from the web. If you can only spare eight minutes to test drive the record, go straight to "Newborn," the sweeping centerpiece with enough catharsis and heavenly Talk Talk-informed organ that youd swear it came from the second side of Catherine Wheels Adam and Eve. Stacked against other debuts out of Manchester, theirs is no disgrace. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 18 Title: Cast of Thousands Released: 2003-08-13 Tracks: 11 Duration: 50:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Ribcage (06:27) 2 Fallen Angel (04:08) 3 Fugitive Motel (05:51) 4 Snooks (Progress Report) (04:00) 5 Switching Off (05:05) 6 Not a Job (04:23) 7 Ive Got Your Number (04:48) 8 Buttons and Zips (03:57) 9 Crawling With Idiot (04:41) 10 Grace Under Pressure (04:57) 11 Flying Dream 143 (01:47) |
| Cast of Thousands : Allmusic album Review : There doesnt appear to be an Elbow consensus: they are their own band; they are the Coldplay its OK to like; they are the Talk Talk for people whove never heard Talk Talk (or Catherine Wheel); they are somewhere between Supertramp and Superchunk; they are part of a succession of over-introspective, twaddle-peddling British rock bands. They are most of these things -- the positive things, at least -- at various points. On Cast of Thousands, Elbows second album, the group does deserve to take its rightful place as one of the most respectable rock bands going. What separates this album from the debut isnt all that apparent on the surface. Downcast songs about relationships remain the stock in trade, but the sound has made natural advancements and the quality control is less prone to malfunctioning. In other words, they have followed through on whatever promise Asleep in the Back held; you could sense this would happen, just as you could sense that, after Lazer Guided Melodies, Spiritualized would make an even better record the next time out. However predictable, the minor differences add up to a lot. More so than ever, Elbows greatest asset is that the band is capable of making big sounds without being bombastic or flashy. And theyve tempered the characteristics that got them tagged as sad sacks, although that fact is mostly apparent in the lyrics ("place" rhymes with "virgin mother whats-her-face"; the payoff line in opener "Ribcage" goes "I wanted to explode, to pull my ribs apart and let the sun inside"). The only setback? Gospel choirs. Hopefully, at some point before they make their next album, theyll realize that their songs dont need background vocals from an entire congregation in order to feel redemptive -- or powerful. [V2 issued the album in the U.S. five months after the original U.K. release.] | ||
 | Album: 5 of 18 Title: Leaders of the Free World Released: 2005-09-12 Tracks: 21 Duration: 1:25:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Station Approach (04:22) 2 Picky Bugger (03:07) 3 Forget Myself (05:22) 4 The Stops (05:03) 5 Leaders of the Free World (06:11) 6 An Imagined Affair (04:43) 7 Mexican Standoff (04:01) 8 The Everthere (04:13) 9 My Very Best (05:33) 10 Great Expectations (05:05) 11 Puncture Repair (01:48) 1 Strangeways to Holcombe Hill in Four Minutes and Twenty Seconds (intro) (01:24) 2 Station Approach (04:42) 3 Picky Bugger (02:49) 4 Forget Myself (03:55) 5 The Stops (04:14) 6 Leaders Of The Free World (05:55) 7 McGreggor (live) (02:39) 8 Great Expectations (live) (04:07) 9 Mexican Standoff (live) (03:50) 10 Puncture Repair (live) (01:53) |
| Leaders of the Free World : Allmusic album Review : When Doves headed to the studio for the recording of their third album, 2005s Some Cities, they returned home to Manchester. With that kind of scenic inspiration and emotional attachment, Some Cities resulted in Doves best of their career at that moment. It is mere coincidence that their musical mates, Elbow, have done the same for their third album, Leaders of the Free World. Such a coincidence is a bit comforting in the respect that Elbow do not stray from what they have previously done. Despite being cast as a gloomy bunch on their first two albums -- 2001s Asleep in the Back and 2004s Cast of Thousands -- Elbow trudge on as an emotional band. Singer/songwriter Guy Garvey doesnt wallow in failed relationships as much as he enjoys being cynical and playful about the world around him. Sure, Elbows more melodic, pensive moments such as "The Stops" and "The Everthere" are classic heartbreakers, with piano-driven melodies lush in melancholic acoustic guitars and Garveys somber disposition. Leaders of the Free World really comes to life when Elbow give in, allowing these songs to grow into something glorious. Album opener "Station Approach" and "Forget Myself" are brilliant examples of this. "Forget Myself" metaphorically points fingers at a media-obsessed culture that is equally blasé about its own issues. Garvey throws his hands in the air, sighing to himself to "look for a plot where I can bury my broken heart." The albums title track also criticizes a very questionable political system, demanding, "I need to see the Commander in Chief and remind what was passed on to me" as a storm of electric guitars mirrors an anxious, waxing delivery by the band itself -- "Passing the gun from father to feckless son, were climbing a landslide where only the good die young." Elbow are a great band regardless of what it takes for them to find their footing. Leaders of the Free World is a bit more rock & roll than not, with guts and heart, because Elbow have finally embraced their powerful, surrounding space this time out. [The U.S. version includes a limited-edition DVD of videos for each song on Leaders of the Free World.] | ||
 | Album: 6 of 18 Title: The Seldom Seen Kid Released: 2008-03-17 Tracks: 11 Duration: 54:38 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Starlings (05:05) 2 The Bones of You (04:49) 3 Mirrorball (05:50) 4 Grounds for Divorce (03:39) 5 An Audience With the Pope (04:27) 6 Weather to Fly (04:29) 7 The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver (05:14) 8 The Fix (04:27) 9 Some Riot (05:23) 10 One Day Like This (06:34) 11 Friend of Ours (04:38) |
| The Seldom Seen Kid : Allmusic album Review : In a world where even the generally mediocre likes of Snow Patrol can have honest to goodness mainstream pop success, it seems peculiar that Elbow have never broken through beyond a devoted cult following. (Admittedly, the fact that their new labels, Polygrams alt rock imprint Fiction Records in the U.K. and Geffen in the U.S., are their fourth and fifth, respectively, after stints on Island, EMI, and V2, may have a lot to do with their lack of mainstream attention.) Exploring the fruitful middle ground between early Radioheads mopey art rock and Coldplays radio-friendly dumbing down of the same, Elbow makes records built on a balance of things not often found together anymore: strange musical textures alongside immediately accessible pop song choruses, or unexpected left turns in song structure paired with frontman Guy Garveys warm, piercing vocals. Its no surprise that Elbow are regularly compared to old-school prog rockers like Pink Floyd and Electric Light Orchestra: theyre proof that records can be cool and commercial at the same time, an idea thats not particularly hip in this day and age. Yet a song like "Grounds for Divorce," which puts a sharp, wryly funny Garvey lyric against a clanging, Tom Waits-like arrangement and throws on one of the albums catchiest tunes for good measure, or "Some Riot," which filters a yearning, lovely melody for guitar and piano through so many layers of effects and processing that it can be hard to tell what the original instruments sounded like, isnt afraid to display its accessibility even on its most experimental numbers. At the albums best, including the spacious, atmospheric balladry of the opening "Starlings" (imagine if Sigur Rós could write a pop song as emotionally direct as Keanes "Everybodys Changing") and the potential radio breakthroughs of the soaring, semi-orchestral epic "One Day Like This" (complete with choral climax!) and the wistful "Weather to Fly," The Seldom Seen Kid is Elbows most self-assured and enjoyable album so far. [The U.K. version added "Were Away" as a bonus track.] | ||
 | Album: 7 of 18 Title: The Seldom Seen Kid Live at Abbey Road Released: 2008-03-17 Tracks: 11 Duration: 59:06 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Starlings (06:30) 2 The Bones of You (05:12) 3 Mirrorball (05:53) 4 Grounds for Divorce (04:00) 5 An Audience With the Pope (04:25) 6 Weather to Fly (05:04) 7 The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver (05:26) 8 The Fix (04:59) 9 Some Riot (05:58) 10 One Day Like This (06:38) 11 Friend of Ours (05:01) |
 | Album: 8 of 18 Title: Live From London (iTunes Exclusive) Released: 2008-06-08 Tracks: 9 Duration: 59:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Switching Off (05:08) 2 Fugitive Motel (05:55) 3 Grounds for Divorce (03:44) 4 Mirrorball (06:01) 5 Some Riot (03:16) 6 Newborn (06:41) 7 One Day Like This (05:34) 8 Scattered Black and Whites (06:53) 9 Fan Interview (15:48) |
 | Album: 9 of 18 Title: Build a Rocket Boys! Released: 2011-03-07 Tracks: 11 Duration: 51:42 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Birds (08:03) 2 Lippy Kids (06:06) 3 With Love (04:12) 4 Neat Little Rows (05:39) 5 Jesus Is a Rochdale Girl (03:18) 1 The Night Will Always Win (04:24) 2 High Ideals (05:39) 3 The River (02:51) 4 Open Arms (04:53) 5 The Birds (reprise) (01:31) 6 Dear Friends (05:01) |
| Build a Rocket Boys! : Allmusic album Review : Build a Rocket Boys! is Elbow’s first release since winning the Mercury Prize with The Seldom Seen Kid. Following that multi-platinum behemoth is no easy task, particularly for a 20-year-old band whose modest, “aw shucks” demeanor makes Chris Martin seem like a braggart. On these 11 tracks, though, Elbow continues its ascent from cult band to stadium filler, skirting all but the outermost orbits of mainstream pop while focusing on innovative, lushly textured songwriting. Elbow has rarely sounded like anyone else, yet Build a Rocket Boys! draws enough parallels to hitmakers to make it relevant in 2011, finding some sort of left-field compromise between Snow Patrol’s arena anthems and Sigur Rós’ sonic exploration. At the center of the creative storm is Guy Garvey, who sings about the mundane in a way that elevates it to stadium grandeur. The lyrics are specific -- Garvey croons about childhood plans, middle-aged reality, and everyday people who aspire to something greater -- but the music is imaginative and open-ended, with guitars that fade into the ether and arrangements that include vintage organs, electronics, orchestral percussion, harmonies, and the echoing ambience of the recording studio itself. On “High Ideals,” the band locks into a globetrotting trip-hop groove, flirting with a Middle Eastern scale before cooling things off with mariachi horns. A gospel choir makes its way into the next song, “The River,” but the songs thick vocal harmonies are used sparingly, serving as a minimalist backdrop rather than a chest-swelling climax. Build a Rocket Boys! knows when to push forward and when to pull back, and its songs find the accessibility in out-of-the-box thinking without alienating either side of Elbow’s audience: the longtime fans who worry about losing their band to the mainstream, and the recent converts who climbed aboard after The Seldom Seen Kids success. | ||
 | Album: 10 of 18 Title: Live In Berlin Released: 2011-04-15 Tracks: 3 Duration: 17:03 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 One Day Like This (07:23) 2 Grounds For Divorce (04:02) 3 Starlings (05:38) |
 | Album: 11 of 18 Title: Dead in the Boot Released: 2012-08-24 Tracks: 13 Duration: 51:39 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Whisper Grass (04:30) 2 Lucky With Disease (03:46) 3 Lay Down Your Cross (04:41) 4 The Long War Shuffle (04:14) 5 Every Bit the Little Girl (04:25) 6 Love Blown Down (04:30) 7 None One (03:44) 8 Lullaby (03:15) 9 Mcgreggor (02:40) 10 Buffalo Ghosts (03:37) 11 Waving From Windows (04:14) 12 Snowball (05:01) 13 Gentle As (02:58) |
| Dead in the Boot : Allmusic album Review : Culled from singles that date back to 2001, a track from the EP Newborn ("None One"), and B-sides from 2011s well-received Build a Rocket Boys!, Dead in the Boot offers up a rare glimpse into the often insular song-building world of the Manchester outfit. Decidedly less bombastic and ornate than the majority of the bands more anthemic album offerings, Dead in the Boot is a quieter, more abstract affair that feels surprisingly autonomous. Elbow have always straddled the line between stadium-ready house band and a band that just wants to stay in the house, lock the doors, and be left alone to die, and its the latter persuasion that informs the majority of the collections 13 cuts. The brittle "Whisper Grass" leads things off in a decidedly mellow direction, but like many of the bands best moments, it recoils and strikes when the listener least expects it, spewing a sinewy stream of distorted venom around the two-minute mark that changes the whole timber of the song. Likewise, the brooding "McGreggor" coolly struts its bluesy swagger before allowing Guy Garvey to indulge in some "Grounds for Divorce"-inspired caterwauling, probably due in large part to the tracks live setting. That said, the rest of Dead in the Boot barely moves the VU meter, choosing instead to occupy that creepy corner of the room where doubt, fear, shame, indulgence, and misplaced rage go to fester when the clock sneaks past two in the morning, the rain flirts with ice, and theres only a single, half-wet cigarette left in the pack. | ||
 | Album: 12 of 18 Title: The Definitive Vinyl Album Box Set Released: 2012-11-26 Tracks: 80 Duration: 6:18:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Any Day Now (06:17) 2 Red (05:11) 3 Little Beast (04:15) 4 Powder Blue (04:30) 5 Bitten by the Tailfly (06:16) 6 Asleep in the Back (03:45) 1 Newborn (07:35) 2 Don’t Mix Your Drinks (03:16) 3 Presuming Ed (Rest Easy) (05:26) 4 Coming Second (04:56) 5 Can’t Stop (04:36) 6 Scattered Black and Whites (05:29) 1 Ribcage (06:27) 2 Fallen Angel (04:08) 3 Fugitive Motel (05:12) 4 Snooks (Progress Report) (04:00) 5 Switching Off (05:05) 1 Not a Job (04:23) 2 Ive Got Your Number (04:48) 3 Buttons and Zips (03:57) 4 Crawling With Idiot (04:41) 5 Grace Under Pressure (04:57) 6 Flying Dream 143 (01:47) 1 Station Approach (04:22) 2 Picky Bugger (03:07) 3 Forget Myself (05:22) 4 The Stops (05:03) 1 Leaders of the Free World (06:11) 2 An Imagined Affair (04:43) 3 Mexican Standoff (04:01) 4 The Everthere (04:13) 5 My Very Best (05:33) 6 Great Expectations (05:05) 7 Puncture Repair (01:48) 1 Starlings (05:05) 2 The Bones of You (04:49) 3 Mirrorball (05:50) 4 Grounds for Divorce (03:39) 5 An Audience With the Pope (04:27) 6 Weather to Fly (04:29) 1 The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver (05:14) 2 The Fix (04:27) 3 Some Riot (05:23) 4 One Day Like This (06:34) 5 Friend of Ours (05:01) 1 Starlings (06:30) 2 The Bones of You (05:12) 3 Mirrorball (05:53) 4 Grounds for Divorce (04:00) 5 An Audience With the Pope (04:25) 6 Weather to Fly (05:04) 1 The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver (05:26) 2 The Fix (04:59) 3 Some Riot (05:58) 4 One Day Like This (06:38) 5 Friend of Ours (05:01) 1 The Birds (08:03) 2 Lippy Kids (06:06) 3 With Love (04:12) 4 Neat Little Rows (05:39) 5 Jesus Is a Rochdale Girl (03:18) 1 The Night Will Always Win (04:24) 2 High Ideals (05:39) 3 The River (02:51) 4 Open Arms (04:53) 5 The Birds (reprise) (01:31) 6 Dear Friends (05:01) 1 Whisper Grass (04:30) 2 Lucky With Disease (03:46) 3 Lay Down Your Cross (04:41) 4 The Long War Shuffle (04:14) 5 Every Bit the Little Girl (04:25) 6 Love Blown Down (04:30) 1 None One (03:44) 2 Lullaby (03:15) 3 Mcgreggor (02:40) 4 Buffalo Ghosts (03:37) 5 Waving From Windows (04:14) 6 Snowball (05:00) 7 Gentle As (02:58) |
 | Album: 13 of 18 Title: Live at Jodrell Bank Released: 2013-11-25 Tracks: 15 Duration: 1:43:29 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 High Ideals (07:35) 2 The Bones of You (05:08) 3 Station Approach (05:49) 4 Lippy Kids (07:01) 5 Leaders of the Free World (08:08) 6 Grounds for Divorce (05:02) 7 The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver (06:43) 8 The Night Will Always Win (04:50) 1 Starlings (07:01) 2 Mirrorball (06:07) 3 Weather to Fly (08:03) 4 Open Arms (06:18) 5 Scattered Black and Whites (07:40) 6 The Birds (09:32) 7 One Day Like This (08:32) |
 | Album: 14 of 18 Title: The Take Off and Landing of Everything Released: 2014-03-07 Tracks: 10 Duration: 57:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 This Blue World (07:12) 2 Charge (05:16) 3 Fly Boy Blue / Lunette (06:16) 4 New York Morning (05:20) 5 Real Life (Angel) (06:47) 6 Honey Sun (04:56) 7 My Sad Captains (06:00) 8 Colour Fields (03:42) 9 The Take Off and Landing of Everything (07:11) 10 The Blanket of Night (04:24) |
| The Take Off and Landing of Everything : Allmusic album Review : Elbow recorded their sixth album at Real World Studios, making the connection between themselves and Peter Gabriel plain. Much of this connection comes from the husky, subdued rasp of lead singer Guy Garvey, but the band on a whole favors a similar kind of accessible art rock where the textures are lucid yet elliptical while the songs are sturdy and melodic, wearing their accouterments well. This blend helped make 2011s Build a Rocket Boys! into a sizable hit in their native Britain and throughout Europe, but The Take Off and Landing of Everything is better still, demonstrating that the band knows how to seize the spoils of success. This assurance -- relaxed and deliberate, confident enough to play up both melodies and cool, echoing abstractions in the production -- belies how much of the album was written in the wake of the dissolution of Garveys long-term romantic relationship, but The Take Off isnt strictly a breakup album. Rather, its a record of coming to term with middle age, finding that there is a birth that accompanies every death, joy to balance the sorrow, an understanding that comes with acceptance. Garvey conveys these issues in his lyrics but, as a band, Elbow reflect this comfortable reckoning with their own nature, letting sadness creep at the edges but favoring a warm, enveloping melancholy that turns the album into a soundtrack for healing, not wallowing. | ||
 | Album: 15 of 18 Title: World Café Live EP Released: 2014-12-04 Tracks: 5 Duration: 25:03 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 This Blue World (05:01) 2 Real Life (Angel) (05:14) 3 The Blanket of Night (04:44) 4 Scattered Black and Whites (05:34) 5 My Sad Captains (04:30) |
 | Album: 16 of 18 Title: Lost Worker Bee EP Released: 2015-07-24 Tracks: 4 Duration: 18:44 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Lost Worker Bee (04:54) 2 And It Snowed (04:16) 3 Roll Call (06:27) 4 Usually Bright (03:06) |
 | Album: 17 of 18 Title: Little Fictions Released: 2017-02-02 Tracks: 10 Duration: 48:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Magnificent (She Says) (04:26) 2 Gentle Storm (03:39) 3 Trust the Sun (05:55) 4 All Disco (04:27) 5 Head for Supplies (03:56) 6 Firebrand & Angel (05:25) 7 K2 (05:18) 8 Montparnasse (02:40) 9 Little Fictions (08:26) 10 Kindling (04:15) |
| Little Fictions : Allmusic album Review : Arriving three years after 2014s The Take Off and Landing of Everything -- a span of time that also saw leader Guy Garvey taking a busmans holiday in 2015 with Courting the Squall -- Little Fictions showcases a different but eminently recognizable Elbow. Seven albums into their career, the band remains a deliberate, contemplative group -- such somberness is a part of their DNA -- but Little Fictions feels optimistic, particularly when its compared to the elegiac The Take Off and Landing of Everything. Where that album dwelled on the idea of loss, Little Fictions is its counterbalance, a record about new beginnings. This change is evident within Garveys lyrics, which are filled with romantic images and hope, but the impressive thing about Little Fictions is how there is a shift within the groups music. That music is evident from the very sound of the record: its lighter on the surface yet complex at its foundation, giving the illusion of a constantly moving, silvery shimmer. Elbow emphasize electronic rhythms, sometimes even conjuring a semblance of a groove, yet they still find space for chiming guitars, such as in "All Disco," which sounds like R.E.M. doing their best Velvet Underground impression. Such ringing six-strings provide a connection to Elbows indie beginnings, but the added electronic flair and percolating rhythms are an enhancement to the bands essential character, not a departure. By moving forward steadily, encompassing a changing present -- both in musical and personal terms -- Elbow wind up with a mature, resonant record. Little Fictions feels quietly hopeful, making it a tonic for troubled times. | ||
 | Album: 18 of 18 Title: The Best of Elbow Released: 2017-11-24 Tracks: 28 Duration: 2:30:10 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Grounds for Divorce (03:39) 2 Magnificent (She Says) (04:26) 3 Lippy Kids (06:06) 4 One Day Like This (06:34) 5 The Bones of You (04:49) 6 My Sad Captains (06:00) 7 Leaders of the Free World (06:11) 8 Mirrorball (05:50) 9 Fugitive Motel (05:07) 10 New York Morning (05:20) 11 Great Expectations (05:05) 12 The Birds (08:03) 13 Scattered Black and Whites (05:25) 14 Golden Slumbers (02:24) 1 Any Day Now (06:17) 2 Fly Boy Blue / Lunette (06:16) 3 Weather to Fly (04:29) 4 Station Approach (04:23) 5 Switching Off (04:58) 6 Little Fictions (08:31) 7 This Blue World (07:11) 8 Kindling (Fickle Flame) (03:44) 9 Newborn (07:34) 10 Puncture Repair (01:50) 11 The Night Will Always Win (04:31) 12 Starlings (05:04) 13 The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver (05:22) 14 Dear Friends (04:59) |