Elbow have subtly reinvented themselves so many times that they’re now journeying far from their rocky guitar roots. Their 10th album features bubbling synths, playful orchestrations, African-inspired rhythms and what vocalist Guy Garvey has called “seedy, gnarly grooves”. The particularly innovative Lovers’ Leap races through samba-style percussion, darting strings and a rolling bass line, before an electronic glam stomp leads into a gorgeously Beatles-y coda. The lyrics, meanwhile, are a darkly humorous rumination on how we romanticise tragic youth.
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In other parts of the song, the lighthearted character Balu is influenced by horns and a melodic keyboard similar to a Wurlitzer. On the other hand, the intense track “Good Blood Mexico City” features elements reminiscent of The National at their most grand and dramatic. “Her to the Earth” pays homage to Genesis’s song “That’s All”, while “Very Heaven” switches things up again with a sense of nostalgia and mystery, making it one of their most poignant and haunting pieces.
Garvey covers a range of subjects, from the government’s assistance programs to his youthful rebelliousness, through his masterful prose. He expresses his viewpoint on success by singing, “It’s been two decades since I’ve had to pay for transportation or drinks / Or encounter ungracious individuals / Like outrunning poverty / All that I’ve achieved was well deserved.” In his exceptional piece “Knife Fight,” he draws inspiration from an event he observed in a café in Istanbul. The vocalist continues to explore new techniques for utilizing his voice. He delves into different textures and even incorporates a vocoder; however, despite Elbow’s experimental nature, their roots remain in writing elegant songs that come from the heart and soul.
Source: theguardian.com
