I've always been a bit on the fence about Elbow. From their first release, 2001's Asleep in the Back, the band showed true promise. Decent songwriting with the occasional good-to-very good track here-and-there. I was in a frenzy in 2003 waiting for the album to come out, and while I liked the direction they took on some songs, the disparity between really good songs and really bad songs was more evident. After finding their next two albums to be much of the same, I became concerned that the hot prospect I'd championed would never be able to reign in their style and take control of it.
This album isn't exactly a masterpiece. It's very, very good though. The first 3 songs (The Birds, Lippy Kids & With Love) take you on a quirky, soulful 18 minute journey. Then immediately transitions into the choppiest, heaviest song on the album. Every song on this album is a new adventure, and every song has something new to offer. Even the two songs I like the least have interesting ideas to offer, and really, what else can you ask for.
Build A Rocket Boys! is, in my opinion, Elbows first back-to-front great album. And like I said, I'm a fan, but I was always waiting for them to put out a truly great album. While this certainly qualifies, the display of invention and songsmanship on this album is only going to lead me to believe that this could be where Elbow elevates themselves to the Radiohead-esque level most of us thought they'd have been in 2003.
If it settles up, Radiohead put out an album that I can't listen to this year, and Elbow is a shortlist for Album of the Year. 8.7 / 10
No comments:
Post a Comment