Elbow
Build A Rocket Boys

Anyone familiar with Elbow knows that the Manchester group uses the same formula for every album: a long initial mantra with repeated choirs, off-kilter ballads for intellectual hearts, futuristic rock, and a choral apotheosis with a final farewell in dim lighting. Like the wedding guest who danced through the entire reception but adjusts his tie at the end of the night to add a touch of dignity.

Moreover, Elbow's albums always feature 4 or 5 tracks that are so superior to the average (of their albums and those of any other new band around) that they make the otherwise excellent remaining tracks seem like inconsequential fillers. Just think of "Switching Off" from "Cast of Thousands", one of those songs that require two minutes of silence after listening because everything that follows will seem superfluous. Yet it is track number 5 in the lineup and makes the subsequent "Not a Job" seem like unnecessary minutiae.

"Build a Rocket Boys" does not escape the rule, although in this case among the otherwise excellent songs on the album there is a certain weariness, with some tracks stretched beyond necessary. Compared to the previous "The Seldom Seen Kid", the tone is more crepuscular, with fewer Radiohead episodes and more space for slow songs with Guy Garvey's miraculous "Gabriellian" voice dominating everything. 

Besides the bearded singer, the protagonist of the album is Craig Potter, with his arsenal of keyboards and pianos spread across the 11 tracks. 

The single "Neat Little Rows" is not the new "Grounds for Divorce" (and that's not a flaw) but the opening "The Birds", with its references, back-and-forth, and vocal interweavings, is applause-worthy. The following "Lippy Kids" is a writer reading his diary sitting on the dock. Garvey clears his throat on the chorus and brings the kids home.

"With Love", with its circular rhythm, uses the choir in a brilliant manner, while "Jesus is a Rochdale Girl" is pleasant but a bit dull. "The River" and "The Night Will Always Win" strip down to make room for Guy takes it all. Few notes of sparing rain, but that is enough to make you want to sing them to the moon, even though from a song called The River I always expect a favor. As for the second, how can you not love a lyric that says "I love your stupid face, I love your bad advice"? 

"High Ideas" attempts the play and succeeds, even though it might give the impression of an artifice created just to amaze. "Open Arms" tries to recreate the magic of "On a Day Like This" but the magician couldn't read the instruction manual very well. Nonetheless, it remains a great piece to sing in a circling of pure souls. The closing "Dear Friends" brushes excellence but without overdoing it. 

A good piece of work (Elbow are incapable of writing bad albums) although compared to the previous one, it feels less like a teamwork effort and more like Guy Garvey's first solo project.

p.s. pay attention to the lyrics, always splendid