Elbow - Build A Rocket Boys!

A surpise of quality or disappointing levels could come, I have no idea which. Having been a BIG fan of The Seldom Seen Kid, I was far less thrilled with one of the older releases. I'm a little afraid that my oft-played "Kid" was simply a fluke.

Track one starts pleasantly moody and unassuming and while I grit my teeth at discovering it's 8 minutes long, it wasn't too long until they really let go musically. A trait that I must say sets Elbow apart from their other Manchester (or London) breathren; they have real artistic ambition. Additionally, I can lay bets that if Elbow release "With Love" they should see the same hit radio results that Edward Sharpe and Mumford similarly enjoyed with spirited high-praise positive songs last year.

A pair of ballads placed perfectly in the middle creep the record down to heartbreak-wino levels. "Jesus in a Rochdle Girl", while whistful and romantic; seems every bit as tragic as the more straight-ahead sad "The Night Will Always Win".

The album continues with more excellence, including what may or may not be my favorite on the record. But it does incite me to really consider jumping a train so that I can sing along with it in a British stadium. A must. (5 of 5 stars)