The Seldom Seen Kid

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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
Product Details
  • Artist: Elbow
  • Binding: Audio CD
  • EAN: 0602517640986
  • Label: Polydor Group
  • Manufacturer: Polydor Group
  • NumberOfDiscs: 1
  • OriginalReleaseDate: 2008-03-18
  • ProductGroup: Music
  • ProductTypeName: ABIS_MUSIC
  • Publisher: Polydor Group
  • ReleaseDate: 2008-03-17
  • Studio: Polydor Group
  • UPC: 602517640986

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Customer Reviews

uncovered gems2008-11-06
Sorry to say I had never even heard of Elbow until I caught them on TV at this years Glastonbury.

Liked what I heard and bought the album (before they won the Mercury prize I hasten to add)

Was completely blown away by it. Have since invested in their back catalogue which have been equally impressive. All are highly recommended

It has certainly restored my interest in music .
Simply stunning2008-11-06
If you love someone, give them a copy of this.

It is simply stunning.
Send up a prayer in my name!2008-11-05
Fantastic album, and possibly best of the year. It's certainly as good as Radioheads "In Rainbows".

Not sure if it's quite as good as "Leaders of the Free World", but they have followed up one of the best albums of all time with another classic.
Heart kicking Elbow2008-11-01
The Seldom Seen Kid

Without doubt my CD of the year...Heartkicking...wonderful... Far be it for me to describe each track... I suggest you just submerge yourself in the sound...
Belting2008-10-27
A real joy to listen to from the start. Can really see why it was voted album of the year by the Mercury awards - truly deserved.
See all 102 customer reviews...