The Seldom Seen Kid could be a metaphor for the band that chose its title. If you’ve followed Elbow over the years, you know their story: Pieces of what once was a weak funk band become a solid indie quartet that outlines human suffering with strong instrumentation and relatable lyrical emotion. Quietly, they become one of the most solid acts to come out of Britain in years. And yet, they are “seldom seen” outside of the blog world, even as they contrarily dodge comparisons to stadium rockers like Coldplay.
The Seldom Seen Kid is not a metaphor for the band that chose its title. With Elbow, one should know to expect a more selfless approach. The Seldom Seen Kid is Bryan Glancy, a close friend of the band who tragically lost his life in 2006. Much of the album focuses on human emotion tied to such loss and profound questions of life. Getting this through to the listener has allowed Elbow another superb album.
This record has no filler. Elbow have grown in many different directions since their spectacular 2001 debut, Asleep In the Back, but there is one element that has remained constant—good songs strung together.
With the progress the band has made, it is hard to believe that there have not been personnel changes. Guy Garvey, Mark Potter, Craig Potter, Richard Jupp, and Pete Turner all played on their first recording as well as this one. The Seldom Seen Kid begins and we hear that these fellows are, in fact, the same band, just different.
It opens with a brief, nonsensical introduction of the screeching and pounding of many instruments stacked on each other. It builds quickly until there is a transition into the quiet keys that begin the song “Starlings.” The beauty of “Mirror Ball,” which reminds of a classic Elbow ballad, leads perfectly into the powerful first single, “Grounds For Divorce,” and the lyric referring to the seldom seen kid of the title. It very well may be the hardest-rocking song in Elbow’s entire discography.
From the strong first single, the album flows seamlessly into the sinister sound of “An Audience With the Pope.” Singer Garvey croons in his Peter Gabriel-tinged voice, “I have an audience with the Pope / About saving the world eight / But if she says she needs me / She says she needs me / Everybody's gonna have to wait.” We are left to ponder if this is a love he wants or one he shuns. Either way it dances in your head, romantically.
The album loses little steam as it advances. The weakest point is “One Day Like This,” quite simply because it sounds like an Elbow song should sound. And no Elbow song should sound like that. But it also could end up a live staple for the band with its sing-along outro.
The LP closes with another elegy to Glancy, “Friend of Ours,” on which Garvey sings, “Love you, mate” from the bottom of his broken heart. And in turn, he breaks yours. Elbow doing what Elbow does, writing honest music from their soul. Not bad for a failed funk band.
By the end of The Seldom Seen Kid, we can make perfect sense out of the messy intro that began it. Just as their music helps us, if not make sense of, then deal with the mess around us. Most likely, this is not coincidental.
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