Elbow
Cast of Thousands
Play Cast of Thousands
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AMG Review of Cast of Thousands
Andy Kellman
All Music GuideThere doesn't appear to be an Elbow consensus: they are their own band; they are the Coldplay it's OK to like; they are the Talk Talk for people who've never heard Talk Talk (or Catherine Wheel); they are somewhere between Supertramp and Superchunk; they are part of a succession of over-introspective, twaddle-peddling British ock bands. They are most of these things -- the positive things, at least -- at various points. On Cast of Thousands, Elbow's second album, the group does deserve to take its rightful place as one of the most respectable ock bands going. What separates this album from the debut isn't all that apparent on the surface. Downcast songs about relationships remain the stock in trade, but the sound has made natural advancements and the quality control is less prone to malfunctioning. In other words, they have followed through on whatever promise Asleep in the Back held; you could sense this would happen, just as you could sense that, after Lazer Guided Melodies, Spiritualized would make an even better record the next time out. However predictable, the minor differences add up to a lot. More so than ever, Elbow's greatest asset is that the band is capable of making big sounds without being bombastic or flashy. And they've tempered the characteristics that got them tagged as sad sacks, although that fact is mostly apparent in the lyrics ("place" rhymes with "virgin mother what's-her-face"; the payoff line in opener "Ribcage" goes "I wanted to explode, to pull my ribs apart and let the sun inside"). The only setback? Gospel choirs. Hopefully, at some point before they make their next album, they'll realize that their songs don't need background vocals from an entire congregation in order to feel redemptive -- or powerful. [V2 issued the album in the U.S. five months after the original U.K. release.]
All the fallen angels roostin' in this place...
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Five years ago when Cast of Thousands came out, this song fell into my head and has never left. Now that Seldom Seen Kid has won The Mercury Prize it's good to revisit this oldy-but goody. or: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QScXn5ipJKs
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A Brillant Bunch Of Englishmen
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I absolutely love Radiohead, and I used to like Coldplay too before Chris Martin decided to become a soggy douche. A friend of mine told me I should check out Elbow, because they combine many of the best elements of both bands. This is actually a pretty accurate description - the vox are in a similar pocket to Coldplay, although Guy Garvey (the singer) can actually pull off the songs live, unli...
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Cheers!
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Life has been busy lately.Actually, no, scrap that. To be more precise: the preoccupations that make up my life have been intensely time-consuming lately.This is so because a lot of changes—professional and personal—has recently materialized. Some were self-imposed, most were beyond me. In any case, they all translate to major re-adjustment.All this would explain why I've been exhausted and gr
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I've got your number
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Don't put this note by your face on the pillowDon't put this letter in the pocket near your heartKeep it in the bottom drawer where you hide the sex toolsI pray you always need themChorusI know what you have doneThrowing advice like grenades at the tableYou're spinning your wisdom in stories that changeYour lies are fluorescent my babyfaced angelGrow a fucking heart loveChorusI know what you ha...
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On the second day...
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... of my being twenty-three years old, I woke up with this song in my head.Everybody now: "I wanted to explode, to pull my ribs apart, and let the sun inside..."
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 "Cast of Thousands")
