| I know I believe in nothing, but it's.... |
| My Nothing. |
| Page last updated; 21st July 2003 |
| Asleep in the Back |
| Track listing; 1. Any Day Now 2. Red 3. Little Beast 4. Powder Blue 5. Bitten By The Tail Fly 6. Newborn 7. Don't Mix Your Drinks 8. Presuming Ed 9. Coming Second 10. Can't Stop 11. Scattered Black And Whites 12. Asleep in the Back Any day now starts the album with a long, low organ note before the drums come in, smashing through as Guy Garvey�s haunted voice asks, �what�s got into me?� The organ groans on below the music maintaining that slightly dark edge. This edge is what the album, and Elbow, have become renowned for. The track as a whole has an eclectic feel with sound bites such as the distant chattering of children, used to add to the removed and slightly paranoid overtones, climaxing with Guy�s vocals cancelling each other out as the instruments are built in giving a wholly sinister feel. Red changes the pace with the gentle but demanding piano intro. The intensity is established as the first chorus comes in; �you burn too bright/you live to fast/this can�t go on to long/you�re a tragedy starting to happen�. When played live it is not uncommon to see most of the audience rocking, almost convulsing along with the gentle, tide-like, lapping of the music. Again, the instruments are built in as the song reaches its climax but it doesn�t feel formulaic, it feels organic. Little beast is a track that can all too easily be overlooked, it never seems to feature in fan�s top songs list and you�re never quite sure whether you heard it when you aren�t concentrating on listening to the album. Guy�s breathy, close vocals give it a certain hushed beauty but it is not one of the strongest tracks of the album. Best enjoyed for the instrumental progression, late at night. Bitten by the tailfly is short and seemingly basic. The echoey reverb on Guy�s voice again comprises the foreground of the music. The scratchy electric guitar interruption stands out, making the listener jump to attention and culminating with what can only be described as a prog. ending it takes some getting used to, especially next to other tracks on the album. Powder blue, the second, but not last track, to contain a reference to colour in its title opens with a sweeping, grand sound and is matched by the confident vocals; �Your eyes are just like black spiders/your hair and dress in ribbons.� It is undoubtedly one of the best things Elbow have ever done. Soaring through emotional highs and lows at it goes is rarely fails to bring a tear to my eye; �bring that minute back/you never get so close to death/makes you so alive�. It seems impossible to doubt Guy�s sincerity behind the words as he reaches the breathtaking peak on �powder blue�� Ending abruptly with a smashed glass it echoes unspoken emotions. Asleep in the back�s (only available on the re-released version) flowery introduction is mirrored with flourishes on the synth (?) a beautifully fitting accompaniment to the lyrics; �show your scars�not to rush you� It makes a satisfying change of pace for the album as a whole. At seven minutes long newborn is not to be taken lightly, but with its dramatic intensity, I can�t imagine how it could be listened to with anything but awe anyway. The incredibly accurate vocal talents of Guy are again demonstrated with the chilling introductory line; �I�ll be the corpse in your bathtub�. The track has a theatrical feel as it arcs through verse and chorus with soaring guitars and strings. As is often true of Elbow tracks the drums are vital in pushing the song along. Perhaps most stunning in the finished song is the anticipation of the vocals after the middle eight before the it changes entirely to an impassioned cry of instruments and vocals on the desperate; �screaming in the night/kick and striked/like a newborn/holding me shaking/awake in the dark��. It is a masterpiece. The pace, changing entirely again, with the less instrumentally dense don�t mix your drinks. It shakes a listener by the absence of the violence so present in newborn. The sad and gentle lament seems to float to your ears on a warm breeze. Understated and powerful in the same moment. It�s followed by presuming ed (rest easy) which seems to have a low threat in its hush, much like little beast. The darkness of it all is unsettlingly calming and the gentle �plink-plonk� of the backing gives it a haunting quality. Coming second, released as a double a-side with asleep in the back, was unsurprisingly not a massive commercial success. The muted introduction of acoustic guitar joined by drums is underlined with a ghostly �woo-oo� continuing the haunted quality so central to the album as a whole. The similarly scratchy electric guitar first heard on bitten by the tailfly but to a completely different effect. It achieves a similarly convulsive quality as red, led by the repeated �I need you to be around.� Marked by a scream-like sound in the concluding sequence it feels like part of you could die just by listening. Another success. The album is audibly drawing to a close on the initially mellowed can�t stop. �I had self belief, they don�t compromise.� As we have come to expect of Elbow now the mood is interjected with sudden jumps to a scream of guitar all adding to the melancholic themes. �Try my lies for size/you might swallow them/while I fantasise/try my lies for size� Finally, the stunning, scattered black and whites, is left to close the album. Guy�s vocals return to the hushed form of previous track, an �end-of-the-day� sort of song its best appreciated to a summer sunset. �and he talks of people ten years gone like I�ve known them all my life/like scattered black and whites/I come back from time to time/I shelter here some days� cries an indescribable agony which must be heard. A stunning, breathtaking track leaving the listener speechless as the album draws to an end. |
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