Disco de Elbow: “Cast of Thousands”

i am having a bit of a hard time trying to figure out my thoughts on this album. it's a strange one...but good, very good. the production is quite strange and unique. it seems to be a cross between some old Pink Floyd sound ideas and some of the sparse wide open spaces of dub. the vocals are closely mic'd and it sounds like the singer is whispering his thoughts directly into your ear at times. it can be a bit unsettling and strange at first, but eventually it comes accross as being very intimate and tender. the acoustic guitar and bass and drums form a solid background, but there's bit of distorted guitar that stab and pierce the open spaces in the songs...the results can be both exhilerating and annoying. the first song suffers from the use of a choir, but let that one slide and try to enjoy the rest of this record. it may take a while for these melodies to sink in and make an impact. because when i first heard it...i knew that there was something that i liked about it...but i couldn't figure out what it was...so i had to listen again and again. and finally, the charm and the character of these songs started to reveal themsleves. there's alot of great beautiful moments on here of great songwriting. this is a very mature album...perhaps more mature than you might expect from a band as young as Elbow. they write some sensitive songs, but they never stoop to the level of being bedwetters like Coldplay or the dreadful Keane. they choose instead, to add some darker tones and let the distance in their sound do some of the work. let it play a few times. i promise ... it will sink in.

Elbow's experimental sophomore effort is a diverse mixture of understated, melodic, melancholy, mood rock with relentless intensity. The subtle intricacies culminate to a much greater whole than they initially sound. Several astute listens to this incredible work are essential to feel the album's beauty. The stellar epic track "Fugitive Motel" is reminescent of the mysterious, lingering mood of classic tracks like Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" and Eagles' "Hotel California." It yearns with desperation, layered with dramatic piano,echoing choir-like voices, and swooning dreamy sound scapes. Vocals might be compared to Peter Gabriel and Sting with a twist of Curt Kobain. The track "Snooks" sounds like a campfire tune if Lou Reed were to host a Boy Scout troop with sudden bursts of noise as wolves sporadically attack. It's simplistic, quirky, and catchy. My favorite track is "Not a Job" which the British tone of his voice is more pronounced over metallic echoing guitar and light touches of high notes on the ivory scale. The track "Buttons and Zips" reminds me of a more refined Pavement track if the indie classic album "Slanted and Enchanted" had been more polished. The tracks "Grace Under Pressure" and "Ribcage" feature the London Community Gospel Choir on back-up vocals. With all this spiritual persuasion, I'm sure there will be many more converted Elbow fans, as I am now a devoted follower.

Maybe one of the most brilliant british groups today!! Elbow defines what british rock should be...listen very carefully the third track ("Fugitive Motel") so beautifully crafted, full of passion and melancholic tenderness. Next we have "Snooks (Progress Report) bringing a fabulous intricate bass rhythm and a scary chorus in despair, also we cannot forget the harmonium-like melody of "Switching off"... Come on, these fellows are thousand times better than Coldplay or Starsailor, but unfortunetely they haven't any hype movement around them, have they???

At middle of the record there's a jazzy feeling rapidly giving place to an angry guitar (I've Got Your Number), a meditative plainsong smashed by an angry guitar (Whisper Grass) that leave us to the funny "Buttons and Zips" with an almost blockbuster melody (seems strangely like Deep Purple's Smoke On The Water", am I wrong???). The album ending tracks are somber and mournful, "Grace Under Pressure" brings a final hymn with a sentiment of hope to the short "Flying Dream 143"...

at first listen, i was disappointed with this release..it seems so subtle compared to Asleep in the Back ( which I think is amazing)..but after repeated listens, Cast of 1000's grew on me..it's still Elbow, a little less melancholy but just as strange and experimental..Guy Garvey's voice is great as usual..standout tracks: fugitive motel,fallen angels,grace under pressure

The great thing about Elbow is how they mask the sense of urgency of the blues in a hybrid of 'Coldplay meets Radiohead' type Britpop. As Gomez did it a few years back the blues, 'Cast Of Thousands' takes those same gut wrenching core of emotions and combines it with an airy brand of experimental Britpop. The CD straddles between the stripped-down folk of Badly Drawn Boy and bare-my-soul ballads of Coldplay. Connecting it all are strands of acoustic/electric guitars, eg, Radiohead, and orchestral strings which thread these elements together. Emotional but not weepy, experimental but not too left field, with enough guitar bite to keep you satisfied. 'Cast Of Thousands' could be very well the sleeper of 2003.