Their last album, The Seldom Seen Kid, managed the rare feat of winning the Mercury prize and huge public affection. So how do Elbow follow it? With continued greatness and without fuss.
As with earlier records, Build A Rocket Boys! is touched by ambitious, intuitive invention.
Too old to have their heads turned by mainstream success, but too big-hearted, maybe too grateful, to spurn it with a churlish how-do-you-like-us-now gesture, Build a Rocket Boys! sees Elbow doing perhaps the smartest thing you could under the circumstances: carrying on regardless.
It is not the finest album that Elbow have made but, I suspect, it is one that ‘everyone and everyone’s mum’ will be glad they did.
Build a Rocket Boys! knows when to push forward and when to pull back, and its songs find the accessibility in out-of-the-box thinking without alienating either side of Elbow's audience.
Details make Build a Rocket Boys! warrant repeat listenings, requiring that you pay attention and remember what you experience.
They've recorded another Elbow album, full of quiet introspection, subtly life-affirming melodies and the usual brilliant lyrical sketches of Northern life.
We should be grateful that a bunch of steady-goers like Elbow have continued to perfect their craft and simultaneously achieve such acclaim and recognition.
This is an artfully conceived and executed, heartfelt and evocative work, and I suspect it’s precisely the kind of album Garvey and his mates wanted to make.
Build a Rocket Boys! sounds very much like an Elbow record, but it doesn't sound like any Elbow record we've heard before.
They’ve crafted an album full of beautifully lush melodies, intricate patterns, and soaring vocalizations.
More than ever, Elbow are hitching their fortunes to their lead singer, and with that, Rocket is by a large margin their quietest record to date, the closest thing to a Garvey solo album we've heard.
For all its lush serenity, reflection and emotional profundity, Rocket too often fails to galvanize itself to have an appeal for new fans, though Elbow fans will find no problems soaking up its reminiscences.
Elbow's albums are always so full of poetry and softness that one can't dislike them. And 'build a rocket, boys!' makes no exception.
Elbow have been, for several years now, one of my favourite bands. They are the kind of group that unrepentantly makes whatever type of music they want to and by some sheer cosmic coincidence that's exactly the music i want or need to listen to!
Build a Rocket Boys! is honestly kind of a mid-tier Elbow album, the group have more experimental albums and they've got more consistent ones as well, but even mid-tier Elbow shines in a way that most other records simply cannot compete. From Guy ... read more
Parts Art Rock and Progressive Rock, Elbow upon my introduction remains one of my favorite English bands to emerge in the new Millenium. I read a review which stated Guy Garvey does Peter Gabriel. I'm still trying to figure this comparison out. Garvey's voice is a treasure as are the band's poetic lyricism and sublime musicality. On this album you've got Classical strings, and brass which has an instant appeal to me. Elbow's 'Build A Rocket Boys!' is worthy of your time and attention. I mean ... read more
Build a Rocket Boys! is perhaps the Elbow album I come back to the least. That being said, there are some absolutely stellar highs on this album. It's nice to see Elbow wearing their art and prog rock influences on their sleeve a little more on this album, and those tracks that do make for some of my favourites. It's also nice to see a happy Elbow, considering the mood of the subsequent album.
Favourite Song - Dear Friends
Parts Art Rock and Progressive Rock, Elbow upon my introduction remains one of my favorite English bands to emerge in the new Millenium. I read a review which stated Guy Garvey does Peter Gabriel. I'm still trying to figure this comparison out. Garvey's voice is a treasure as are the band's poetic lyricism and sublime musicality. On this album you've got Classical strings, and brass which has an instant appeal to me. Elbow's 'Build A Rocket Boys!' is worthy of your time and attention. I mean ... read more
Garvey Goes Gabriel, being allowed the artistic freedom to experiment on the back of the huge success of the Mercury Award winning ‘The Seldom Seen Kid’. This is clearly evident from the outset with the expanded and atmospheric arrangement of album opener, ‘The Birds’, which builds perfectly to a rousing chorus. Garvey brings all his brilliance to the narratives here, especially here on the sadness of an old man looking back on his long-lost happiness. He then transports ... read more
1 | the birds 8:03 | |
2 | lippy kids 6:06 | |
3 | with love 4:12 | |
4 | neat little rows 5:39 | |
5 | jesus is a rochdale girl 3:18 | |
6 | the night will always win 4:24 | |
7 | high ideals 5:39 | |
8 | the river 2:51 | |
9 | open arms 4:53 | |
10 | the birds (reprise) 1:31 | |
11 | dear friends 5:01 |
#7 | / | FILTER |
#10 | / | Q Magazine |
#16 | / | musicOMH |
#16 | / | Under the Radar |
#20 | / | PopMatters |
#27 | / | No Ripcord |
#28 | / | Gigwise |
#45 | / | The Fly |