Search - Elbow :: Asleep in the Back

Radiohead For Girls!!!!

Ian Creamer | Dublin,Ireland | 02/05/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This c.d. was very unfortuante to be pipped by P.J. Harvey for the pretigious Mercury Music prize-after a few listens you'll soon understand why!Okay I know it sounds boring at this stage but last year we had Coldplay and Doves and this year we have Turin Brakes as groups who've launched highly impressive debut c.d.'s with a vaguely similar sound.Now most certainly you can add Elbow to this list.They have taken the sound of last years impressive debuts and developed that overall sound.Elbow sound like Doves and Coldplay yet they also seem to have early Genesis and Pink Floyd as an influence.Vocally Guy Garvey is as close to early Peter Gabriel as it gets.This c.d. is as good a debut as any of the others mentioned above but the only thing they lack is the one really catchy song to make their album really big.Yet in terms of overall quality this c.d. surpasses those mentioned above. Elbow are a 5 piece conventional rock band who are led by the most talented vocalist I've heard this year-Peter Gabriel meets Chris Martin of Coldplay I think.I mean this singer Guy Garvey can do it all,falsetto to rocking loud,sensitive to soaring harmonies-he's got the lot.The songs themselves are not completely New Acoustic Movement-they are mellow but the overall feel to them is far more progressive and experimental.The songs themselves are generally longer then the norm-with many averaging at 5/6 minutes.This c.d. does not have a poppy feel.Many songs seem to have a hypnotic almost "Bolero"effect-start quietly and gather an unstoppable momentum.Lyrically this is quite a serious c.d. with romance not the only issue-but this is a group with something to say on a far broader range then your average group.One listen to the lyrics of the amazing "New Born" and you'll be pretty moved.Garvey stated in an interview that this track helped a young mother recover from the tragic death of her child.The first song is driven by a harmonised chant like vocal that is very eerie and hypnotic.The second song is really like what you may expect from follow up c.d.'s from the likes of Coldplay and Doves-acoustic guitar and piano as well as cello's in the background-it's the most instantly acessible song on the c.d.Song 3 "Little Beast" is really like Doves-guitar and hammond organ with a sort of grinding percussion-this song takes getting used to.Brass features in the background of "Powder Blue"-piano dominates and the harmonies are truly wonderful.As with most of the songs on this c.d. the tempo would be slow to mid-nothing happens fast on this c.d.-but you've got to give it a few listens to get the full benefit.Song 5 is very strange-the vocals are distorted with really dark and crazy harmonies.The main instrument here is a hypnotic rumbling of percussion which is interupted by loud aggressive guitar.The middle section is a ringer for Pink Floyd type effects-an unusual song but very compelling also.This group seem to have no fears when it comes to ambitious sounds and what's more they certainly can deliver. "Newborn" is very acoustic with some gentle electric-God the chorus just soars in a moment of real understated beauty-a great song.Think Coldplay at their best for this one,but going on for 7 min 36 secs-it's the most understated epic around.The break in the middle sees a shift into a hammond organ solo(not like a prog-rock solo)and some unusual guitar effects.Garvey sounds so like Gabriel at this stage.It's just an awesome track and grows so much with each subsequent listen.Song 7 is very short(Well 3 mins),very strange as regards some of the effects and isn't very memorable.The next song "Presuming Ed" is a very dark affair and is all quite low key except for the vast harmonious chants at the end.The 9th track has that Bolero effect I spoke about earlier-acoustic and mellow building up to a loud sonic-noise fest that Trent Reznor would be proud of.It's mellow,then eerie and just ends up being an industrial mess-but it's an amazing song.The penultimate track is very low-key and mellow-but the vocals are excellent.The final track "Scattered Black And Whites" is simply astounding-the gentle feel of Turin Brakes but with piano,acoustic guitar and great background vocals that you don't focus in on at first-but enhance the song so much-it's the best song on the c.d.Beauty and strength,always interesting it never has to reach a crescendo of volume-it's just a really good mellow vibe that meanders gently for nearly 6 minutes.This is a really good c.d.If you liked any of the groups mentioned above-well this one is really worth checking out.It's taken the sound developed by these groups last year and developed it to an even more interesting level.It has a certain instant appeal-but the songs have such depth that I think it's one of those c.d.'s you listen to fairly regularly for long periods.I just hope the group get their due reward for a totally excellent c.d.You really should check this one out!Oh yeah apparently Guy Garvey wants to call their second album "Radiohead For Girls"-so it goes to prove that depite all the seriousness of this album,they do have a sense of humour after all."

Lusciously dark

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 11/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Elbow is one of those deeply depressed British rock bands (like South) that don't have a lot of CDs out -- but what they do have is truly phenomenal. The murky, lush music swirls with unhappiness and a sort of downtrodden desperation, making "Asleep in the Back" a morbidly sweet experience.



It opens softly with a spacey electronic backdrop and some solid drums, and Guy Garvey's sweet vocals over it in the solemn "Any Day Now." A hint of piano-rock comes in with the rich "Red," title song and complex "Powder Blue." Other songs like "Bitten by the Tailfly" are more conventional rock song, with funereal chants, muted vocals, sizzling basslines and ominous percussion.



And that's before it gets really dark. "Don't Mix Your Drinks" is an eerily downbeat, almost suicidal-sounding, complete with ghostly feedback popping up here and there. "Presuming Ed (Rest Easy)" sounds like pop for a funeral home. And in the gentle "Can't Stop," Garvey moans, "This has battered me/That's my history/Hold this shaking frame/Pull this back together..."



Only a handful of debuts sound half as good as Elbow's does, especially in rock circles choked by pale imitations of great bands. So to have a band that feels and sounds truly original is a rarity. Here and there are things that remind one of Radiohead or Pink Floyd, but never enough that it feels like they are ripping one of the greats off.



What is really great about "Asleep in the Back" is the instrumentation -- rich, haunting and spacey. Only two songs have that harder rock-y edge; the others are softer, compiled out of piano, some subtle acoustic guitar, and drums that can come to the forefront or melt away into the dense musical backdrop. The most effective touches are the electronic effects, which add an otherworldly edge to already beautiful songs, and the ethereal strings that appear in songs like "Red."



Guy Garvey has an unusually angelic voice for a rock vocalist -- he also is quite a good singer, letting his voice soar and almost burst from the weight of his emotion. Though with these songs he would have to sound emotional -- they drip with darkness and chilliness, inner demons and drugs. "You burn too bright/You live too fast/This can't go on too long/You're a tragedy starting to happen..."



Listening to "Asleep in the Back" is like floating down a cold, dark river in the middle of an abandoned city. Beautiful and awe-inspiring, yet sad and lonely -- not to mention a highly recommended album."

The future of British music is in Elbow's hands.

mackem1980 | Sunderland | 12/03/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Elbow's "Asleep in the Back" has been described as the first great album of this century.
And it is hard to disagree because this album, when given time, is the most haunting yet beautiful release from a British band for as long as I can remember.
Garvey and co have managed to produce a finally-crafted, multi-layered piece of work packed with gorgeous melodies and spooky effects, all of which are amplified perfectly by Garvey's inimitable voice which is simultaneously husky, tuneful, powerful and subtle.
With "Asleep in the Back", Elbow have mastered the art of subtlety (except in their choice of band name!).
Powder Blue, said to be a love song about two heroin addicts, is a song which I cannot see being bettered for a long long time. Despite its morbid theme, its build up is gradual, centered around a falling piano sequence and a melody which floats along effortlessly, carrying the track to its goose-pimpling conclusion.
To pick out all of the strengths of this hugely promising band would take me all day.
Quite simply, I have only one piece of advice to you all - BUY IT!"