Song, by Toad

I’ve already confessed that it is rare, if not unheard of, for me to instantly take to an Elbow album.  I couldn’t tell you why but they seem to take months, if not years sometimes, to gently slide into my subconscious.

This one has been helped on its way by a brilliant live performance in Glasgow a week or so ago which is likely to have a massive influence on this review, let’s be honest.  I’m listening to this album, not in the usual vacuum, but flushed with smiles from one of my favourite live performances in ages so some of that warmth inevitably spreads into the mood in which I approached this record.

If you think that was a good start for my relationship with Seldom Seen Kid, then imagine the grin that spread across my face as the brilliant opener Starlings introduced itself.  The occasional burst of horns punctuates one of Garvey’s lighter – not light, per se, just somehow sprightlier.  The Bones of You and Mirrorball are more typically lovely Elbow moments, before Grounds For Divorce breaks out the riffs and reminds you that these guys can make a real fucking noise when they want to.

There’s something Big about Elbow – something grand maybe.  Epic, perhaps.  It doesn’t come across as grandiosity though, just an honest lack of self-consciousness about their music.  They don’t hide in irony like many bands nowadays.

I’m still working my way into the end of the album.  I’m loving about as far as The Loneliness of the Tower Crane Driver and the brilliant The Fix, but I’m still to get to the last few songs.  As with most Elbow records I am guessing that this will come with time.  A gift that keeps on giving.  Buy it, it’s beautiful.

Elbow – Starling
Elbow – The Fix

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