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Elbow - Cast of Thousands
Holy fucking crap. I mean, wow. I quite liked Elbow’s first album, it was something nice and melancholic to put on while chilling out, but this? This is something altogether different. Elbow have developed grandiose ideas and translated them to music with an astounding level of success. They still sound like Elbow but now they sound like Elbow fronting an orchestra. Soaring, haunting melodies, choir-like backing vocals and huge choruses make up this downbeat, laid back music on top of which the beautiful and (again) laid back vocals of Guy Garvey deliver some of the most beautiful and poetic lyrics I’ve ever heard outside of a Grandaddy song. It kind of sounds like Elbow crossed with Martin Grech (especially on the particularly majestic Switching Off). In short, it’s music that will make you melt into a puddle with a very big smile on your face. I can honestly say that there is not a single track on this album which isn’t fantastic, one of the best records I’ve ever had the pleasure to listen to. It made me wish I could see them live. Then I remembered I had. Now I just wish I’d been paying more attention.
10 out of 10