Elbow
AUDIO VERTIGO
Polydor/Geffen
March 20, 2024
Web Exclusive
Rock chameleons Elbow are always trying to push the envelope and explore new directions regardless of genre, as long as the result is great music. Their 10th studio album, AUDIO VERTIGO, is no exception. In classic Elbow style, the songs up AUDIO VERTIGO it sounds unmistakably Elbow, but also like nothing you'd expect. This is exactly what we've come to expect from these mischievous British alt rockers.
Shifting gears from the soft and warm mood of their last album, 2021 Flying Dream 1award winning Mercury Elbow have hit the refresh button once again and have returned to the most energetic and sonically dense styles heard in 2003 Cast of Thousands and of 2005 Leaders of the Free World, but with a definite slant towards funkier grooves. And while there's nothing really ground-breaking, it's still excellent. a testament to the band's gifted musicianship, skillful songwriting and mindset to create something special.
Perhaps the most striking difference AUDIO VERTIGO is the inclusion of horns on the album's first two singles, “Lovers' Leap” and “Balu”. The horn-loop beat on the former makes the song an instant earworm classic, while the horns on the latter add some spice to the big synth groove. Along with the leaping, spiraling melody and prog-like time changes of “The Picture” and the playful – think early Eno/Talking Heads – vibe of “Her to the Earth”, they make up the best tracks on the album. Elsewhere, the album's edgy and lively rhythms and guitar chords of “Things I've Been Telling Myself For Years”, “Very Heaven” and “Good Blood Mexico City” set the stage for the rest of the album with their distinctive shifting waves of creative melodies and melodic guitar riffs. The inclusion of syncopated bass lines, electronic beats and swirling sound effects create a sound that is so refreshingly unfamiliar yet wonderfully Elbow.
Of course comparisons to Peter Gabriel are inevitable when listening to Elbow. Frontman Guy Garvey's voice is every bit as rough and gorgeous as Gabriel's, and musically Elbow explore tone and texture with the same vigor as the best bands from the prog rock era. Although AUDIO VERTIGO may not be their best work, the layered rock-oriented album is stacked with clever melodies and it's nice to see Elbow stepping outside their comfort zone and reaching back a bit to reconnect with the bold and adventurous their ways. (www.elbow.co.uk)
Author Rating: 8/10
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