Elbow
Build a Rocket Boys!
Though not quite yet a household name in America, Elbow have been steadily staking out their elegant, anthemic turf for four records now. With the release of Build a Rocket Boys!, their fifth full-length, the Manchester, England quintet continues to challenge but reward their listeners with rich, intricate song arrangements that ambitiously soar.
Building on the breakthrough success of their last record, the Mercury Prize-winning The Seldom Seen Kid, Elbow return to their familiar dynamics: Dense, elaborately layered songs steeped in nostalgic melancholy. Guy Garvey, the singer and lyricist, once described his band’s music as “prog rock without the solos,” and you can hear what he means in these 11 songs.
Not far from Radiohead’s OK Computer territory, though less frantic and visionary, Elbow uses twisting guitars, washes of keyboard, and symphonic backing to deepen their sonic range. Their not-so-secret weapon is Garvey’s voice, a Mancunian burr that charms with husky resonance. Like Thom Yorke’s, Garvey’s vocal presence dominates here, and swoops and hums in repeated crescendos throughout the record. The Halle Youth Choir even comes to his aid on the majestic sing-along, “Open Arms”, somehow providing ballast without overkill.
“Lippy Kids” provides the album’s stirring centerpiece; it’s a slow meditation on Garvey’s childhood as he remembers the adolescent packs of boys hanging out on Manchester streets, cigarettes in hand, “perfecting their simian stroll.” The song builds from stately piano chords to chiming guitar arpeggios and pulsing bass. The record’s title comes from the carpe diem chorus of “Do they know those days are golden / Build a rocket, boys.” Garvey captures the glorious abandon of youth, but also resigns himself to its inevitable end.
Several more standout songs doubling as memories burnish this record. “Jesus is a Rochdale Girl”, another lovely finger-picked hymn, details Garvey’s reminiscence of his simpler, pre-fame life when he had “nothing to be proud of and nothing to regret.” “The Night Will Always Win” echoes the former song with Craig Potter’s regal piano chords ushering in a delicate ode to the fatalism of night.
Between the complex, winding arrangements and British connotations, this is challenging music. Though melodic and uplifting at times, Elbow’s music doesn’t have the same commercial appeal as Coldplay, for instance. It’s moodier, more sonorous, and less pleased with itself. All of their records share consistence of quality however, and Build a Rocket Boys! embodies Elbow’s grace and warmth in abundance. If you haven’t done so yet, put aside a few of your Radiohead discs, and check out Elbow—they’re worth the investment.
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