Guy Garvey - Courting The Squall

Solo ventures feel important for artists. They allow time to play and tinker with songwriting on their own terms, and for Guy Garvey - now a songwriting national treasure - this was much needed. After two brilliant but very steady albums in Elbow’s latest output, the craving for a shake-up in the band’s anthemic aesthetic was widely desired, seemingly even by Garvey himself.

‘Courting The Squall’ comes born out of sessions with close friends and musicians. The ‘fun’ and ‘spontaneity’ which fuelled the recording sessions rings through the tracks, it sees Garvey’s songwriting and musical approach loosen as he taps into intimacy, grooves and experimentation rather than the anthemic formula that Elbow have become masters of.

Energy and excitement is abuzz from the off, encompassing Garvey as he revels in the chance to slip through the slots of Elbow’s democracy for 10 songs. He delivers his most quickfire vocal yet on opener ‘Angela’s Eyes’, which is paired with driven rhythms and an unsettled instrumentation, synths warbling higher than they should, there is a sense of unbalance and an off-kilter mood at the album’s source. The element of surprise is also something Garvey toys with throughout: just as ‘Harder Edges’ reaches a soft middle-section, a chipper brass section trumps it and sees the track exit with a spring in its step.