The Seldom Seen Kid :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

Theatrical & emotional

2008-10-03
Complex is right...styles all around yet all fit together seemlessly. Sound is engaging and, while it can't get much better with each listen, the volume gets turned up with each playing!

Amazing -- My First Elbow Album, Too..

2008-09-16
What an astounding album!

Overall, the lush orchestration and highly unique compositions really set this album apart from anything I've heard as of late. I'm surprised these guys aren't massive over here, as nearly every track blew me away.

Key Tracks: The Bones of You, The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver, Some Riot, Friend of Ours .. tons of emphasis on those last two, for sure.

The album itself is dedicated to Bryan Glancy, one of Guy Garvey's (the lead singer of Elbow) best friends who died suddenly in 2006. (Courtesy of Wikipedia..)

(Knowing this, the last two tracks mentioned seem even more heartbreaking, but absolutely breathtaking at the same time..)

I'll definitely be checking out the rest of Elbow's catalog!

eh?

2008-09-12
So Elbow have won the Mercury Music Prize and people all over the country are scrambling to find out what they've missed. From where I'm standing it's a bit of a mystery. There are several places on the album where my attention is wandering and there's nothing innovative here and nothing that really gets the hairs standing on end.

Its all very safe. Very well put together, and has at least three excellent tracks. But ultimately the best you can say is that they do a lot better job at what they do than Coldplay or Snow Patrol. But that's damning with faint praise.

It's a decent album but no more than that. Given that, why did it win the Mercury? I can only guess that it was a compromise. But sadly the Mercury Prize should showcase the best of British. Let's hope that some British band hears the new TV on The Radio album "Dear Science" and is inspired to make next years contest a bit more interesting.

Elbow Room

2008-08-27
The new album from Elbow marks a welcome return to something that has been missing from a good many CD's lately: Dynamics. I have not heard this kind of fidelity since the likes of Steely Dan or the underappreciated Blue Nile, "The Seldom Seen Kid" is a sonic delight. From the opening cascades of "Starlings" to the final farewell of "Friend of Ours," Elbow has concocted an enveloping orchestral whirl of music.

The sound of the band seems to fall somewhere between Coldplay's pop-progressive and The Bends era Radiohead's more straightforward days, while showcasing Guy Garvey's gravelly voice, literate lyrics and showing a deeply melancholic bent. While the most accessible work here, "Grounds For Divorce," is a harder edged blues number, most of the songs here drift through their sad tales of loss ("The Bones of You"), a friend's self-destruction ("Some Riot") and loneliness ("Tower Crane Driver"). "Starlings" is even deeper, as the older man dreams of being an acceptable suitor for the younger partner he sees and "dreamed of you and I/and marriage in an orange grove," all while reconciling himself to this dismal resignation.

"I guess I'm asking you to
back a horse that's good for glue
and nothing else.
But find a man that's truer than,
find a man that needs you
more than I."

When Graves finally does allow love to overwhelm him, it's a weird sort of sublime giddiness. The "Mirrorball" couplet "We took the town to town last night, we kissed like we invented it" catches the tone perfectly while still holding Elbow's sophisticated musical excitement in check. If bands like Coldplay, later Talk Talk, The Blue Nile or Snow Patrol wet your whistle, then Elbow's lush "The Seldom Seen Kid" should be seen...and heard.

Brilliant, not to be missed

2008-08-23
Album of the year, easily, maybe the best album of the 00's. I NEVER give 5 stars, but this is the kind of work that changes the pop music landscape...

Sublte Album that Really Sucks You in

2008-08-21
Acclaimed for their innovative sound and candid, evocative lyrics, Elbow has received vast critical acclaim and been endorsed by major artists Blur, R.E.M. and U2. Elbow return with a new album, "The Seldom Seen Kid", their follow up to 2005's universally acclaimed Leaders Of The Free World and first for Fiction/Geffen Records. In support of the new set Elbow will be coming stateside kicking things off with a show in New York City April 26, 2008 at Webster Hall.

"New Elbow is sublime!!" - SUPERNOVA

"Their latest effort deserves to trigger a large-scale love affair. Elbow are at the top of their game" - UNCUT MAGAZINE

"Every now and then a great band like Elbow comes along. I am a big fan so its no surprise that I totally love the first song to surface from their upcoming album, The Seldom Seen Kid" - EACH NOTE SECURE

A Refreshing Sound 2008-08-21
When I got this album, I had no idea what to expect. The description was vague, but I have to say on first listen this album had be hooked.

This album has elements that make it atypical. It has a cross-cultural sound that to me isn't unlike Peter Gabriel's work. What it adds to that sound is strong instrumentation and equally strong vocals. One can't help but feel good after listening to the album as it's ambiance is really uplifting.

It has made me a repeat listener. "Starlings" is really a great intro to the album which puts a strong dynamic sound at regular intervals amongst an otherwise relaxing song. While the dynamic variation is never as strong through the remainder of the album, the melodies, timbre, vocals, and poly-rhythms only get stronger and mix things up enough to make each listen a new experience. All of this variation is subtle enough that the album holds up as a coherent piece that will possibly have a different sound depending on your own mood and emotions.

All I can say, is that this album is a welcome relief as way too much of today's popular music puts everything out front without a challenge to the point where it can get boring. This album never gets boring.

I guess with that in mind this isn't unlike some other greats such as Peter Gabriel, which this album seems to have a loose similarity too. The sound also reminds me a bit of modern day Radiohead minus the vocals (thankfully). In other words, Elbow presents a multi-layered album that will easily stand the test of time. I look forward to exploring more of their albums, and I think an exploring listener should give this album a chance.

I hate to be the dissenter... 2008-08-21
I've held off on my review for such a long time, because, frankly, I just don't LIKE this album. I feel as though I should like it, but the truth is in the listening, and after 4 listens, well, I can't make myself listen anymore. I'm not willing to put in the effort it might take to make me finally catch on to what they're doing.

I don't find anything in the album offensive, but nor does anything particularly grab me. I find the vocals, lyrics and instrumentation, not to mention the arrangements, honestly boring.

I like all kinds of music, really, with my currently most-listened to stuff as of late being John Mellencamp's new album (I love it) and older Goo Goo Dolls albums (love them, too), with some Audioslave and Rage Against the Machine thrown in for good measure.

But, bafflingly enough, I do not like Elbow.

I'm really sorry.

Really good! 2008-08-11
Really, really good band. I hadn't heard of them until I saw them on "Live from Abbey Road". I got the album right away and it is one of my favorites this year. Very tight band with a very good lead singer.

Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid 6/10 2008-08-10
Manchester Britpop band Elbow is one of the most critically acclaimed bands on their side of Atlantic, but commercial success has continued to elude them, and the group is practically unknown in America. The Seldom Seen Kid, their fourth album, aims to reach wider audiences with its epic brand of indie rock, with vocalist/guitarist Guy Garvey's distinctive British tenor leading the way.

The record starts off with slow burner "Starlings," mostly a bubbling synthesizer and Garvey's tender voice punctuated by occasional blasts of horn. Ultimately boring, the band luckily picks up the pace with the quintessentially British-sounding "The Bones of You," which sounds like a mix of the Verve's intelligent witticisms and Blur's innovative instrumentation.

The highlight of the record is obviously Garvey, whose velvet pipes expertly complement his dreamy storytelling, as is most evident on lead single "Grounds for Divorce," where he describes feelings of nostalgia as "there's a hole in my neighborhood / down which of late I cannot help but fall."

Sadly, Garvey's talents as a songwriter can only go so far, and unfortunately The Seldom Seen Kid suffers from the same affliction as its starting record: it is too ponderous to hold the listener's attention for long. Songs drag along on waves of noise and guitar, with only Garvey's voice to lead a path through the musical bog.