Elbow: The Seldom Seen Kid

    I heard Elbow on the radio yesterday, on WITR, 89.7 FM "The Pulse of Music". They are a British alternative Britpop/Post-Britpop, Dream Pop band who got their start back in 1990 at the Corner Pin pub in the Ramsbottom borough of Manchester. Their first major, non-EP, release came in 2001 with Asleep in the Back, followed by Cast of a Thousand (2003), Leaders of the Free World (2005) and The Seldom Seen Kid (2008), to which I love the Rubik's Cube evoking artwork cover. They will also be releasing a new album in early 2011.
    Britpop is largely the British counterpart of American alternative rock, and mainly a reaction against the American grunge movement, with Britpop bands like Suede, Blur and Oasis. By the turn of the millennium, Britpop came to its end, so Elbow is considered to be Post-Britpop. The singer of Elbow, Guy Garvey, has a distinct voice, often compared to Peter Gabriel of Genesis. I find his voice similar to [the last band I wrote up] dredg and to some extent Rustic Overtones. I find, as a whole, Elbow's music to be very vocal heavy, but not to a fault, as Garvey places an emphasis on dynamics as "an essential part of classical music, but a lost art with guitar music". So, each album is more of a "journey" than simply a musical enterprise. There are as many softer songs as loud songs and the balance is appreciated as a welcome change to many bands whose sound is too similar one song to the next in my opinion. Garvey cites Genesis, Talk Talk and Radiohead as vital influences on the style of their group and Elbow has received critical praise from groups such as Radiohead, Coldplay, Blur, R.E.M. and U2.
    The first song, "Starlings" is a different kind of fanfare, because it is not always loud, but has blurbs of anthemic noise that counter its melancholic atmosphere. "The Bones of You", next, is probably their best song to date, reminding me the most of dredg (sound of Garvey's voice and slight progressive rock style), Radiohead (rhythmic sound at the beginning of "15 Step"), Muse (harmonized vocals like "Knights of Cydonia") and I love the deep electronic style bass that adds rigor and tension to the sound. The song ends with a quote from Gershwin's "Summertime" played lightly on a jazzy trumpet fading into the distance. The third song, "Mirrorball" fits its name perfectly, with angular repetitive broken guitar and piano chords and glassy string harmonies. The first in many vocal heavy softer songs, it is beautifully melodic and a good change of pace after the rockin' previous track.
    That is just a preview of the 11 track album, The Seldom Seen Kid, to wet your appetite, hopefully. I have also included track 4 "Grounds for Divorce" in the MixPod player for further salivation (thank you ).