18th August - Elbow's Cast of Thousands

Artist - Album: Elbow - Cast of Thousands
Released: 18th August 2003
Sounds Like: we've been here before

Bloody Elbow again!

Analbumaday... rating: 6/10

1.Ribcage - 6:27
2.Fallen Angel - 4:07
3.Fugitive Motel - 5:51
4.Snooks (Progress Report) - 4:00
5.Switching Off - 5:05
6.Not a Job -4:23
7.I've Got Your Number - 4:48
8.Buttons and Zips - 3:57
9.Crawling with Idiot - 4:41
10. Grace Under Pressure -4:57
11. Flying Dream 143 -1:48

Listen to 'Grace Under Pressure': www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWCL_cbASR4

7th May - Elbow's Asleep in the Back

Artist – Album: Elbow – Asleep in the Back

Released:  7^th May 2001               

Sounds Like: We’ve done these guys before

So, yesterday was the first time I reviewed an album by the Beatles, and yet today sees me on my third (third!) record by Elbow. No, I am not Guy Garvey in disguise and nor am I their biggest fan. Honest! It really is just the way the blog has fallen into place. I’m totally open to different suggestions of artists that aren’t, you know, Elbow or Bob Dylan though... Please feel free to bang a comment in below telling me who I should do next. Comment on anything actually, nobody ever comments...

My inferiority complex aside, Elbow aren’t exactly bad are they? On this, their debut, they indicated themselves worthy of taking up the Manchester indie mantle alongside Doves, following the deterioration of Oasis and the dissolution of the Stone Roses. Without ever producing a stone cold anthem along the lines of ‘One Day Like This’ on this album, they delivered plenty of lighter-waving ballads in the gorgeous likes of ‘Asleep in the Back’, ‘Powder Blue’ and ‘Scattered Black and Whites’, whilst also being experimental and electronically savvy enough to keep things interesting.

The unanimous verdict is that ‘New Born’ is the highlight; a timeless masterpiece of gentle loveliness that contains the disarming opening gambit “I’ll be the corpse in your bathtub” and is actually about growing old together despite the title. I remember buying Q Magazine’s special 1001 tracks to hear before you die in 2003 and that listed the track at #319, ahead of such classics as Little Richards’ ‘Tutti Frutti’, Jeff Buckley’s ‘Hallelujah’ and The Band’s ‘Weight’. (It also asked them if they think they’d ever better it, an intriguing thing to ask a band one album in).

The rest of the album doesn’t quite hit those heights, but it’s still a worthy debut from an underrated band (apart from by me, apparently).

Albumaday... rating: 7/10

1.       Any Day Now – 6:17

2.       Red – 5:11

3.       Little Beast – 4:15

4.       Powder Blue – 4:31

5.       Bitten by the Tailfly – 6:16

6.       Asleep in the Back – 3:47

7.       Newborn – 7:36

8.       Don’t Mix Your Drinks – 3:16

9.       Presuming Ed (Rest Easy) – 5:26

10.   Coming Second – 4:56

11.   Can’t Stop – 4:36

12.   Scattered Black and Whites – 5:30

Listen to ‘Newborn’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syQOaO9s2Tw

Also released on the 7^th May:

2001: The Moldy Peaches – The Moldy Peaches

17th March - Elbow's The Seldom Seen Kid

Artist – Album: Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid

Released:  17^th March 2008         

Sounds Like: A good (gentle) craic

Happy St. Patrick’s Day you guys! If you’re in need of a soundtrack to your Irish session (for some strange reason), check out yesterday’s special post and youtube playlist!

I did most of my partying yesterday, meaning that most of my day has consisted of a small trip to the local for some football and hair of the dog and then wandering around Manchester in a slightly drunken and dishevelled condition hunting for a new coat.

Strangely, in that dazed state I have noticed that I have heard ‘One Day Like This’ - this albums centrepiece - twice already today. In the first instance it was on in the bar, as MTV counted down the “top 100 should’ve been number 1s!”, nestled in between Rihanna and Take That. The second time I encountered it was when I staggered past hip and trendy Manchester pub The Oast House and within some cool indie singer and acoustic guitarist was doing a worthy rendition of it. These two sum up Elbow perfectly – the group tread that fine line between commercial and cool with no little success.

As well as the rip roaring ‘One Day Like This’, ‘Starlings’ and ‘Grounds for Divorce’ are well worth special mention. The first is a lovely gentle welcome to the album, whilst the Ivor Novello award-winning ‘Grounds for Divorce’ is a rocking anthem. The whole album is full of subtle gems and understated beauty, with ‘Weather to Fly’ being another cracker that I feel like I’ve only just discovered. Well worth a listen.

Albumaday... rating: 7/10

1.       Starlings – 5:05

2.       The Bones of You – 4:49

3.       Mirrorball – 5:50

4.       Grounds of Divorce – 3:39

5.       An Audience with the Pope – 4:27

6.       Weather to Fly – 4:29

7.       The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver – 5:14

8.       The Fix – 4:27

9.       Some Riot – 5:23

10.   One Day Like This – 6:34

11.   Friend of Ours – 4:38

12.   We’re Away – 1:59

Listen to ‘Weather to Fly’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqx4o6QyywU

4th March - Elbow's Build a Rocket Boys!

Artist – Album: Elbow – Build a Rocket Boys!

Released:  4^th March 2011

Sounds Like: Old Elbow

Tonight I go to a Sigur Rós gig (yay!), but today it’s Elbow that I’ll be blogging about. The two bands may have come from wildly different places – both in terms of style and geography (people in Bury, Elbow’s hometown, know Iceland only as the place that Kerry Katona and Stacey Solomon get their Christmas dinners from) – but their lengthy careers they’ve actually begun to follow the same lines.

Sigur Ros first made an international impression with the release of Ágætis byrjun, their second album and one chock full of glacial, epic soundscapes, but it was their fourth effort Takk…, and the song ‘Hoppípolla’, in particular that made them household names. That track soon became the BBC’s go to tune for uplifting music, soundtracking every single bloody montage and trailer they released between 2005 and 2008, until it was supplanted by Elbow’s own ‘One Day Like This’. 

Elbow’s own path to that particular crowd pleaser came from far less captivating, quieter beginnings. They scored a critical success with their debut album Asleep in the Back, but their penchant for acoustic melancholy and experimental wiggery meant that it didn’t really stick with the punters. However, they developed a penchant for penning anthemic singalongs culminating with 2008’s The Seldom Seen Kid.

After achieving commercial recognition, however, both groups went into their shells. Sigur Rós’ latest album Valtari reverts to sonic introspection and icy mood pieces. And this, Build a Rocket Boys!, is much less like Coldplay or Snow Patrol and more like the Elbow of old. It can be sombre and sparse, but it’s effective and affecting. Guy Garvey has a wonderful gruff voice and a knack of making everyday occurrences resonate. In both cases, they may be a change in direction but they’re welcome here.

Now to gig!

Albumaday... rating: 6/10

1.       The Birds – 8:03

2.       Lippy Kids – 6:06

3.       With Love – 4:12

4.       Neat Little Rows – 5:39

5.       Jesus Is a Rochdale Girl – 3:18

6.       The Night Will Always Win – 4:24

7.       High Ideals – 5:39

8.       The River – 2:51

9.       Open Arms – 4:53

10.   The Birds (reprise) – 1:31

11.   Dear Friends – 5:01

Listen to ‘Jesus Is a Rochdale Girl’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGzIm7Ylkqw