Manchester band Elbow have returned with their tenth studio album, ‘AUDIO VERTIGO’, and it’s just what we’ve come to expect from the band, with the sound picking up the new vibes Elbow have been putting down on their last few albums.
‘Balu’, the second song off this album to have been initially released as a single, and ‘Lovers’ Leap’ almost seem like songs designed to be heard live. Pete Turner brings exciting and unique bass patterns to both tracks. ‘Balu’ also feels very inspired by Muse and Nothing But Thieves, indicated by its heavy, energetic bass and prominent synth usage.
‘Knife Fight’, written about a real knife fight Elbow’s frontman, Guy Garvey, witnessed in Istanbul, is a slow, psychedelic and peaceful song which tonally leads the album into its calmer closing tracks, juxtaposing its aggressive title. It does a wonderful job in shifting the mood and is easily one of this album’s standouts.
The album closes on its longest song, ‘From the River’, an instrumentally dream-like track with equally abstract lyrics ,with the song ending on a fade out that feels appropriate after the mellow feel of the track.
Elbow are set to head out on a UK headline tour in May, starting at the Brighton Centre.