Albums by this artist

Asleep In The Back (2002)

Elbow

Asleep In The Back

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» TROY CARPENTER | CO-DIRECTOR

Elbow Asleep In The Back V2, 2002 RiYL: Doves, Coldplay, Built To Spill's Perfect From Now On

Manchester's Elbow bucks a lot of the accepted Brit-pop stereotypes on its debut Asleep In The Back, and as a result stands above the majority of England's latest crop of next-biggest-things. The group clearly isn't rushing toward instant pop fame -- it took 11 years from its inception to cobble together Asleep, which consists mostly of extended, moody songs that cuddle entrancing pop hooks within their expanse but don't shove them into your face.

More in the vein of Built To Spill's Perfect From Now On than the latest Doves or Travis albums, Asleep is structured as an epic, almost prog-rock album that, once spun, reveals itself as a comfortable listen, containing a number of classic pop songwriting turns within its vastness. There are nods to Coldplay and Travis' "trad" rock sensibilities here, but Elbow just seems to prefer stretching out moods and exploiting mellow grooves for all they're worth.

Singer Guy Garvey's vocals pull the record together, ranging from a mantra-like monotone ("Any Day Now") to a soaring tremelo ("Powder Blue") to a vaguely menacing whisper ("Bitten By The Tailfly"). He evokes a restless desperation on opener "Any Day Now" with his instructions to a tired driver on a long road trip: "Don't play Coltrane / you will sleep at the wheel / eyes on horizon / don't sleep at the wheel," and builds upon such moods while showing versatility throughout the record. Garvey displays his range over the course of 11-minute centerpiece "Newborn," which starts modestly enough with a minor-key plea to a lover, only to be buoyed to an explosive climax in which organ swells break over the sonic dam, forcing Garvey to sing the bridge at a fevered pitch right up to the brutal cut-off.

There's also an ominous sense of urban decay that spreads over Asleep In The Back like so much Radiohead-inspired future dread. Lines like "you're a tragedy starting to happen" ("Red") and "in despair or incoherent -- nothing in between" ("Powder Blue") seem to convey a depression running through most of Asleep's tracks, but it's clearly underwritten with hope, as expressed by chiming guitars and the melodic float of Garvey's vocals.

Unfortunately, the very aspects of talent and songwriting that give Elbow a unique sound are probably going to prove enough to relegate the band to late-night talk show status in the States. But Asleep In The Back is one of the tightest English rock debuts in the post-Radiohead world.

TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.