Release Date: April 12, 2011
After hitting the highest earning marks in the UK from their previous two albums, Elbow have reached that point of what comes next: To follow up with radio hits or doing something else and give the long time fans an album to sink teeth their into that’s more about the band than the status? The band has worked hard at being melodramatic and thus produced a fantastically creative back catalogue of UK pop-rock. Now on LP number five, Build a Rocket Boys!, Elbow gives us their sharpest tracks to date.
Making dramatic imaginative pop-rock is something they do well in the UK and Elbow is part of the reason. They’ve been able to tweak themselves over the years, working around Guy Garvey’s ability to carry a note, and Mark Potters’ knack for laying down a riff. But Elbow has always been so much more than that, never once restricting them to a formula. This has lead to the whole product being rather cinematic in its essence.
On Build A Rocket Boys!, they take that feel and run with it, creating music that could be in a rock opera without sticking an underlying theme or story to it lyrically.
The eight-minute opener “The Birds” uses a modern blues guitar for a rocking riff. Garvey’s vocals keep it subdued giving his signature post Morrissey lament. Robotic synths turn on the bands Prog side, and by the half way point the strings kick in and Elbow is off doing what made them famous in the first place. “Lippy Kids” takes some cues from The Who in its storytelling and picking up a Daltrey inspired melody straight from of “It’s a Boy.”
The album flows hooks quickly, again alluding to that rock opera feel. Certain tracks become extended interludes like “Neat Little Rows” with its continually escalating guitars bridging the tidy pop from the previous track and the acoustic presence of the one after, “Jesus is a Rochdale Girl.” The piano tapping “With Love” brings out a big chorus to help with the tag line as crisp guitars and harps create an uplifting vibe on track.
New additions to the repertoire are the bass heavy inclusions on “High Ideals.” The track blends the electronic hums with orchestrations and pianos making it as versatile as it gets for Elbow.
This is a band that loves little changes, and sounds like this is just more of it.
The back portion of the album settles down some, relying more on ballads as if to wrap up the long story that’s not really there. Piano ballad “The River” is the most dramatic while staying relatively minimal in structure. One more go at the big sing along, “Open Arms” delivers the albums anthem with keys and driving percussion.
Hazy harmonies take the album out on “Dear Friends” for a gentler moment. Nothing more is left but an overwhelmed set of headphones. And with that, the band completes a decade of success with a smile, a wink and further credibility that Elbow can play beyond the UK top 40. Build A Rocket Boys! is an album the fans and the band should be more than happy to have.
Elbow – Build a Rocket Boys! Tracklist:
- “The Birds”
- “Lippy Kids”
- “With Love”
- “Neat Little Rows”
- “Jesus Is a Rochdale”
- “The Night Will Always Win”
- “High Ideals”
- “The River”
- “Open Arms”
- “The Birds (Reprise)”
- “Dear Friends”
