 |
Elbow
Cast of Thousands
label: V2
released: 08.18.03 (UK)
our score: 3.0 out of 5.0
|
Elbow
showed so much promise at their conception, gaining the Single
of the Week in the NME for "Newborn," and a Mercury
nomination for the Asleep At The Back long-player. A
top 20 album and appearances on Top of the Pops seemed to hint
at a secure future, but much of their new album, Cast Of Thousands,
fails to inspire or capture the imagination.
This
11-track release possesses some incredible individual moments,
but as an album as a whole it sinks into obscurity under a dark
cloud of dreariness. The new single, "Fallen Angel,"
starts in a promising way but before long becomes a victim of
the nothingness that creeps into the music and the lyrics, much
like the rest of the album. The only track that clearly stands
out from the others and lifts the proceedings is "Grace Under
Pressure," which starts to deliver what the title of the
album promises by featuring the talents of The London Community
Gospel Choir and the crowd Glastonbury 2002.
But
"Grace Under Pressure" comes too late on the album to
save it. After an absence of nearly a year, Elbow are not going
to muscle their way into critical favouritism with this lacklustre
effort. Cast Of Thousands was demoed at a friend’s
house in Western Scotland and recorded in Liverpool by the band
and long term production collaborator Ben Hillier, who has also
worked with Blur and Cast. Experimental at times (Ribcage sees
a flat mic taped to Guy Garvey and pre-tongue vocals recorded),
Cast Of Thousands relies too heavily on a couple of songs
saving the day. They don’t. I’m giving them the titular
elbow.
25-Aug-2003 1:55 PM
If you
liked Cast of Thousands...
|
Tracklist:
1. Ribcage
2. Fallen Angel
3. Fugitive Motel
4. Snooks (Progress Report)
5. Switching Off
6. Not A Job
7. I've Got Your Number
8. Buttons And Zips
9. Crawling With Idiot
10. Grace Under Pressure
11. Flying Dream
|
|
