The Seldom Seen Kid - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.co.uk
There are few things in life quite so liberating as the opening track on an Elbow album--they're like airlocks between the plainness of the outside world and the elaborate melancholic heave-ho that you are likely about to submerge yourself in. Following predecessors "Any Day Now", "Ribcage" and "Station Approach", "Starlings" opens their fourth album The Seldom Seen Kid rising from a bed of tumbling electronic subtlety like a depressed Atari game loading up, adding bare touches of piano, glimpses of ambient guitar, out of body background vocals, an understated pulse and a wisp of strings, before--EXCELSIS!--a fanfare avalanche of horns crashes the gate and elevates things to gasping palatial heights, before Guy Garvey's inimitable gravel tone and wrenchingly poetic reinterpretations of the everyday announce their arrival proper. It's astonishing, by far the most progressive moment on the album and if anything it sets the bar too high. But even when the pace dips, and songs like "Mirrorball" and "Weather to Fly" don't distinguish themselves quite enough, their textural peerlessness remains. This is a beautiful sounding record. Their collaboration with Richard Hawley may be more of a curiosity than a thing of beauty, but the highs, the riffing cross-stitch of "Ground for Divorce", the desolate grandeur of "The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver" and the enlightened string-laden anthem "On a Day Like This" (like their own Sound of Music--only substitute the Alpine peaks for a Manchester high-rise) number amongst the best of their career. --James Berry

Album Description
Acclaimed for their innovative sound and candid, evocative lyrics, Elbow has received vast critical acclaim and been endorsed by major artists Blur, R.E.M. and U2. Elbow return with a new album, "The Seldom Seen Kid", their follow up to 2005's universally acclaimed Leaders Of The Free World and first for Fiction/Geffen Records. In support of the new set Elbow will be coming stateside kicking things off with a show in New York City April 26, 2008 at Webster Hall.

"New Elbow is sublime!!" - SUPERNOVA

"Their latest effort deserves to trigger a large-scale love affair. Elbow are at the top of their game" - UNCUT MAGAZINE

"Every now and then a great band like Elbow comes along. I am a big fan so its no surprise that I totally love the first song to surface from their upcoming album, The Seldom Seen Kid" - EACH NOTE SECURE

Album Description
International pressing of ttheir fourth album. The Seldom Seen Kid is a welcome return from the band, driven by a thunderous riff that reminds listeners of Elbow's love of the heavy as well as the delicate. Produced by keyboard player, Craig Potter, the album is the follow up to 2005's universally acclaimed Leaders Of The Free World. The lyrical core of The Seldom Seen Kid sees Guy Garvey address the key questions of life. The big themes of love and loss become the central focus of an album that sees Elbow, a band universally recognized for their musical ability and innovation, stretch their sonic template further than ever before. We move from the sparse Electronic of `Starlings' through the flamenco influenced `The Bones Of You' to the Zepellinesque Rock of the first single `Grounds For Divorce'. 12 tracks. Polydor.

Customer Reviews: Read 76 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

Make room for this April 22, 2008
16 out of 17 found this review helpful

In my view, Elbow has been not received the attention they've deserved, neglected and passed by as the spotlight has shown instead on similarly innovative countrymen Radiohead and Coldplay. Perhaps their excellent new CD will change that. The Seldom Seen Kid moves from songs filled with Pink Floydian grandeur (ex., "the Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver"), to Beatlesque sing-alongs ("One Day Like This") and a lot of quality material along the way. The arrangements are stunning, including an extremely effective use of keyboards and synths. There is an interesting variety of musical moods including the dark carnival ride of "The Fix," a relatively straight-ahead blues rocker (the mighty "Grounds for Divorce") and a couple of gloomy widescreen ballads. This new Elbow recording is so good it's made me want to go back and reassess their previous works. It's one of the better things I've heard so far in '08.

5 out of 5 stars

Stunning, absolutely mesmerising album March 19, 2008
15 out of 17 found this review helpful

Elbow, in my honest opinion, are one of the world's most highly underrated bands.
This album deserves listen after listen after listen.
Each time I keep finding more and more reasons to think if this album as one of the best albums for years, and a sure contender for an album of the year.
Stand out tracks.
Bones of You. Storming track with an amazingly clever mix of hard bass line and single note acoustic strumming. Simply amazing.
Mirrorball. Simply put, this has to be one of the best tracks on an album ever.
The kick drum beat and piano in this track send shivers down my spine. EVERY. TIME. I. HEAR. IT.
Weather to Fly. Gorgeous. Pure class.
Elbow have just pulled out all the stops on this album. It is climbing very quickly to one of my all time classics.
And above all, I just cannot write a review without mentioning Guy Garvey's lyrical genius.
If I gush on about his way with words, I'll embarass myself. He has a gift. He is one of modern rock's geniuses.
I'll leave it at that.

4 out of 5 stars

Gets better with every listening! (4+ stars) June 16, 2008
12 out of 13 found this review helpful

Elbow's "The Seldom Seen Kid" truly gets better with every listening. The music's indie mix of synthesized keyboard tempered by bluesy guitar complements the soulful voices of lead singer Guy Garvey and the rest of the band. Pink Floyd seems to be a definite influence, especially in "The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver" and "An Audience with the Pope," but don't think for a minute that Elbow's sound is derivative. "The Seldom Seen Kid" exudes originality on every track.

There's not a single song I dislike on this CD, although I have my favorites: "Grounds for Divorce," "The Bones of You," "An Audience with the Pope," and "On a Day Like This." The instrumental texture varies from track to track, from the percussion and synthesizer-driven "The Fix" (which sounds like it might belong in a contemporary musical) to the orchestration of "On a Day Like This" to New Age-sounding opening notes to "The Starling" to the acoustical guitar and piano of "Friend of Ours." The unifying factor is Garvey's pure voice that never dominates; he sings as though he is another one of the instruments. The band has dedicated this CD, in particular the song "Friend of Ours," to a friend who passed away, and their affection and longing comes through, even on some of the more upbeat songs.

I have listened to "The Seldom Seen Kid" a dozen times, and each time I like something else about it. I highly recommend this CD to anyone who appreciates indie/alternative rock with a clean, yet complex sound.

4 out of 5 stars

go fourth, young band April 9, 2008
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

Elbow, one of my favorite active bands, have never made a truly perfect album, and this isn't one either. It doesn't need to be. Destined as with its predecessors to get many and many a spin in my player, Elbow's fourth release continues to demonstrate why they are far ahead of the field. The murky, melancholy Mancunian brit-rockers give us another round of pint-aided romantic reflections on the everyday, with the customary layers of thick guitars, pianos, and cavernous snares and kicks.

In each previous album, Elbow's thrown something new into their trademark sound. This time, it's a bit of a showman's edge, most notable in the the zany track The Fix (which with Richard Hawley's co-vocals sounds like a preposterous musical number from a Tim Burton flick), and also on One Day Like This (the string melody of which recalls My Fair Lady). There is a greater emphasis on the string section, starting with the dramatic stabs in the otherwise breezing opening number Starlings. As always, there's a classic Elbow stomp track (the amusing Grounds for Divorce takes its place alongside kindred spirits Fallen Angel and Forget Myself). There's the late-album lull (the piano-dominated Some Riot). There's the would-be anthem (One Day Like This tries but doesn't have the stunning emotional power of the immaculate Grace Under Pressure from Cast Of Thousands). There's the classic piano-driven ballad (Mirrorball, a gorgeous track, one of their best).

Then of course there's Guy Garvey's top-notch lyricism, again on display here. If Asleep in the Back's lyrics were dominated by urban rat race discontent, Cast of Thousands' by gossip, and Leaders of the Free World by love and heartbreak, this record has a far more domestic feel, which seems natural as the band ages. Songs about fatherhood, divorce, old friends, and the like abound. Garvey still has the unique ability to be brilliant about the ordinary. "We took the town to town last night, we kissed like we invented it," he sings on Mirrorball.

For me, this outing doesn't quite carry the natural ease of fit that their debut did, so I'll call it their second or third best record, if I've got to rank 'em. Still, by the time we reach the outro -- the gentle and moving Friends of Ours, a track similar to Great Expectations from their last record -- The Seldom Seen Kid has taken its place as one of the band's highlights. When these guys come up with a best of -- and here's one fan hoping there will be several more records of this caliber before it comes to that -- the top numbers from this will fit in right alongside all the rest.

4 out of 5 stars

You are the only thing in any room you're ever in April 24, 2008
7 out of 8 found this review helpful

Alcoholism, loneliness, a band's early formation, and most importantly: the thrill and fear of love, whether it's just starting or in full bloom.

Those threads run through Elbow's fourth album, "The Seldom Seen Kid," turning it into a brooding, mildly melancholy little affair -- very unlike their last album, I think. And it's also a sign of how polished and mature this Manchester band's music has become over time, with delicate little indiepop tunes full of keyboard blues and solid lyrics.

It opens with a cacophony of weird vocals and clashing keyboard sounds, only to fade away into a gentle, bluesy little indiepop melody filled with volcanic highs.

There's a lot of trickling piano and trembling sweeps of keyboard. Guy Garvey's rough voice sings a bittersweet little song about how he dreams of "you and I/And marriage in an orange grove," and how the girl he adores should "find a man that's truer than/Find a man that needs you more than I." After describing how he feels, he adds faintly, "Darling, is this love?"

I'd say yes, probably.

In case there is any doubt, we're then treated to the stormy catchiness of "Bones of You" ("I can work till I break/but I love the bones of you/That, I will never escape") and the exquisite violin-riddled ballad "Mirrorball" ("You make the moon a mirrorball/The streets an empty stage/The city's sirens, violins/Everything has changed"). It's all love, whether it's fearful, joyous or painful.

After that trio, things get a wee bit darker with the blurry bluesy "Grounds for Divorce," and the string of songs that follow -- suspenseful pianopop, warm smooth Britpop tunes, droning laments about being alone, a rollicking sunny little indiepop melody, and the ghostly piano-led "Some Riot."

And in the middle of it, they tack in "The Fix," which is probably the weirdest material Elbow has ever turned out. It sounds a bit like a visit to a harmless-yet-creepy carnival populated by ghosts, with a swirling chorus that sounds like something Tim Burton would create. I have no idea what the lyrics mean though ("The fix is in/The jockey is cocky and vicious").

Listening to an Elbow album is a little like revisiting a friend you haven't spoken to in awhile, and hearing how things have changed for them. Quite a bit has changed for Elbow -- their music here is a bit more mellow, more domesticated in style, and more reliant on a bluesy vibe as well as the usual Britpop guitars and drums.

In fact, their lush music is also heavily imbued with shimmering, chilly synth and keyboards, giving it a slightly otherworldly air. But the core of the music is no less alluring -- solid riffs that can be satiny-smooth, ringing or fuzzed-out, solid drums, and a gentle piano that trickles through most of the album. And some of the sweeter songs are draped in some lovely violins.

It certainly doesn't hurt that the solid lyrics have moments of pure poetry ("The violets explode inside me/when I meet your eyes/Then I'm spinning and I'm diving/Like a cloud of starlings"). Garvey's voice sounds very rough-edged at first, until you hear just how much emotion he can cram into his vocals -- he drawls, wails and murmurs, sounding melancholy all the time.

"The Seldom Seen Kid" adds a bluesier, more ghostly edge to Elbow's lush Britpop, without changing what made them such a great band. Definitely one of this year's must-hears.

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