Things I’ve Been Telling Myself For Years sets the tone from the outset with Alex Reeves’ drums which burst forth with power from the first bars, in perfect break with the subtle playing that he had aptly adopted on the previous disc. “Al Reeves is everywhere on this album,” singer Guy Garvey immediately admits, adding that the prolific drummer associated with the group since 2016 had never participated so actively in the creative process, a job that was done mainly in groups – Flying Dream 1 had been created by the confined members before being recorded live in an empty concert hall.
The creative impulse is precisely the other characteristic of this album which consolidates the compositional talent of the Manchester quintet. The first extract Lover’s Leap surprises with its polyrhythmic, but nevertheless danceable structure carried in the verses by the nervous bass of Pete Turner and exacerbated in the choruses by the thunderous keyboards of Craig Potter. As for Mark Potter’s guitar, you have to go back almost 20 years to see it so intentional – this is especially the case on Good Blood Mexico Citya superb rock song dedicated to the Foo Fighters and their late drummer Taylor Hawkins.
Guy Garvey is as good as himself, his tenor voice once again weaving intoxicating melodies which fit as well as ever into the rich musical setting carried a little further by Elbow.
Absent from international stages since 2017, the group has since added important milestones to its catalog, the latest in the running tailor-made for large venues. Hoping that this can finally bring them back to our lands.
Extract of Good Blood Mexico City
Rock
Audio Vertigo
Elbow
Polydor