Elbow - Build A Rocket Boys

It’s not bleak up north, it’s positively glowing. That’s the impression Elbow give: few others can do warmth quite as well, fewer still shifting significant numbers at the same time. Yet toasting the odd marshmallow over the crackling embers of ‘Build A Rocket Boys!’ probably wouldn’t be too much of a stretch.

With more critical and commercial recognition than could be considered strictly healthy for the ego, it would be remiss to suggest there’s no pressure afoot. Brits, Mercurys and Ivor Novellos tend to turn great bands into desperate, head-spinning wrecks; such is the pressure to do better next time around. Of course, there was always the chance that a truck load of awards would force a band so assured to adopt a more mainstream stance. The shivers of ‘Lippy Kids’ make any such fears seem ridiculous at best. Elbow are a different beast to their greener peers. ‘Seldom Seen Kid’ was by far from their debut, and with experience comes a quietly confident stride - a well worn path that belies any outside expectation.

Even when embracing the odd touch of the electronic, eight minute opener ‘Birds’ does so with a sense of contentment that couldn’t be matched by anyone else. It’s no shock to discover Guy Garvey returned to his Bury roots to pen the record - an elongated love letter, it’s enough to conjure up someone else’s memories as if they were your own.

Single ‘Neat Little Rows’ and its neighbour ‘Jesus Was A Rochdale Girl’ juxtapose just what Elbow do best. The former a restrained stomper based around a single scale, it’s the kind of track nobody else would see as a comeback contender. The latter, an largely acoustic lesson in raw brilliance, simply wouldn’t work without Garvey’s heartfelt but unassuming tones. Together they’re as good an indication as any that the cult of new can’t tick all the boxes - some require an act to actually have lived a bit first.

That’s not to say ‘Build A Rocket Boys!’ is flawless, but then that’s part of its charm. If anything, ‘satisfyingly weathered’ may fit the bill best - its imperfections only serve to hold the interest further. Clearly capable of provoking goosebumps, watery eyes or more likely all of the above - if anything Elbow are more ponderous than before. Greater success, in hindsight, was never going to change much.