Asleep in the Back

by

Elbow

Edit

Elbow is one of those deeply depressed British rock bands (like South) that don't have a lot of CDs out -- but what they do have is truly phenomenal. The murky, lush music swirls with unhappiness and a sort of downtrodden desperation, making "Asleep in the Back" a morbidly sweet experience.

It opens softly with a spacey electronic backdrop and some solid drums, and Guy Garvey's sweet vocals over it in the solemn "Any Day Now." A hint of piano-rock comes in with the rich "Red," title song and complex "Powder Blue." Other songs like "Bitten by the Tailfly" are more conventional rock song, with funereal chants, muted vocals, sizzling basslines and ominous percussion.

And that's before it gets really dark. "Don't Mix Your Drinks" is an eerily downbeat, almost suicidal-sounding, complete with ghostly feedback popping up here and there. "Presuming Ed (Rest Easy)" sounds like pop for a funeral home. And in the gentle "Can't Stop," Garvey moans, "This has battered me/That's my history/Hold this shaking frame/Pull this back together..."

Only a handful of debuts sound half as good as Elbow's does, especially in rock circles choked by pale imitations of great bands. So to have a band that feels and sounds truly original is a rarity. Here and there are things that remind one of Radiohead or Pink Floyd, but never enough that it feels like they are ripping one of the greats off.

What is really great about "Asleep in the Back" is the instrumentation -- rich, haunting and spacey. Only two songs have that harder rock-y edge; the others are softer, compiled out of piano, some subtle acoustic guitar, and drums that can come to the forefront or melt away into the dense musical backdrop. The most effective touches are the electronic effects, which add an otherworldly edge to already beautiful songs, and the ethereal strings that appear in songs like "Red."

Guy Garvey has an unusually angelic voice for a rock vocalist -- he also is quite a good singer, letting his voice soar and almost burst from the weight of his emotion. Though with these songs he would have to sound emotional -- they drip with darkness and chilliness, inner demons and drugs. "You burn too bright/You live too fast/This can't go on too long/You're a tragedy starting to happen..."

Listening to "Asleep in the Back" is like floating down a cold, dark river in the middle of an abandoned city. Beautiful and awe-inspiring, yet sad and lonely -- not to mention a highly recommended album.