been listening to the other albums today / yesterday
after playin BARB endlessly. It actually provides a really different contrast
to any of the others, which are also all different in their own way.

Think i'm where i was before, Leaders still my favourite with all the others second equal.

TL - I think it's wonderful that your mum's as passionate an Elbow fan as you are!

Album is back in the top 10 at no. 9, climbing back up 5 places

Finally got it. Listening party on Saturday night at my house, for the three of you US Elbow fans who have waited.

Smoked a phat one last night and completely lost myself in BARB, very beautiful and life-affirming.
All my initial doubts just washed away

I'd love to give my immediate impression, but...I don't have one. I guess that's the first half of the definition of a "grower," right? All I can say for certain is that "The Night Will Always Win" kind of irritates me and that the rest were all quite pleasant.

Hi everyone, long time fan, first time poster here at this forum. I've loved this band since I first saw them back in March of 2002. Amazing, that was. I just thought I'd share my thoughts on the new album, Build A Rocket Boys.

Track by track review:

1. The Birds: Easily one of the best songs out of their entire catalog. A slow burner that builds to a glorious end. 5 Starlings

2. Lippy Kids: Slowing down already? Well, that's okay, everyone is allowed to do that from time to time. I really like this one. 5 Starlings

3. With Love: Oh no. No. No. No. What happened? I'm all for positivity, but this is a bit overblown. You've gone Coldplay on us. Easily the weakest thing on here. 2 Starlings

4. Neat Little Rows: Okay, now we're back on track! A fantastic romp throughout. Another to put amongst their finest. Let's get ready to rock out! 5 Starlings

5. Jesus Is A Rochdale Girl: Um, yeah...what I was saying about rocking out. Not happening, apparently. I understand that this is supposed to be an introspective musing on Garvey's past, but this is quite boring, actually. I mean, It sounds all very nice and it has a warm...fuzzy feeling to it, but oh....getting sleepy....zzzz. 2 Starlings

6. The Night Will Always Win: Huh? I don't remember this one. Upon the first listening of the record I must have slept through it. This one is actually very good. This one has that warm and fuzzy thing I spoke about previously, but without being overblown (With Love) or pretentious (Jesus Is A Rochdale Girl). 4 Starlings

7. High Ideals: Ooh, a pulsing beat and a guitar announcement followed by some nice orchestration. This is the one that woke me up from my little nap the first time around. The band drops out around three minutes in, leaving only a door shaking low ebb underneath Garvey's vocal. It's a pretty nice touch. Unfortunately, this song never seems to build any steam when it kicks back in, and just kind of peters out instead of soaring. 3 Starlings

8. The River: Uh oh, starting to doze off again...it's a good thing Garvey started singing when he did. Not a bad tune, but not super memorable either. 3 Starlings

9. Open Arms: Dammit. They're doing that Coldplay thing again. Slightly less overblown though, and I must admit that the choir sounds superb. However, it also sounds safe. 3 Starlings

10. The Birds (Reprise): Who's this? Did Garvey just age 40 years? No, he didn't (this track is sung by John Moseley, a 68 year old piano tuner), but this fellow is what I can imagine he would sound like if he did. With all of the observations of youth and aging, it's a nice thematic callback to the first song and it's really how the record should have ended. 5 Starlings

11. Dear Friends: I...I really wanted to like this one, but it just feels too much like a retread of "Scattered Black & Whites" or "Newborn" from their first album, 2001's "Asleep In The Back" but without the dazzling intensity of either one. This would have fared better as a B-Side in my opinion. With that said, I really do get a genuine feeling of sincerity and warmth from the whole group on this one, which is really what saves it. 3 Starlings

Yeah, Elbow is definitely comfortable in their own skin. And this record definitely has a very warm and fuzzy feeling to it, like your favorite old blanket. And like that blanket, you feel like you've seen this before. I was really excited for this record and I was hoping for a more transcendent experience. Unfortunately, it seems that they've decided to relax and play it safe on this one. A bit too much, I think. To be fair though, after all of the accolades that they (rightfully) received for "The Seldom Seen Kid", I suppose they deserve to. So yes, a bit disappointing but I look forward to the next one.

Overall Rating: 3.64 Starlings out of 5

01. Lippy Kids
02. The Birds
03. Dear Friends
04. The Night Will Always Win
05. Neat Little Rows
06. High Ideals
07. Open Arms
08. Jesus Is A Rochdale girl
09. With Love
10. The River

I only have this album and Seldom Seen Kid thus far and, at the moment I seem to prefer Rocket Boys. Not sure why and subject to change, of course!

Lee

Build A Rocket Boys! is a fantastic album.
It's lately overtaken Leaders of the Free World in second place, but I don't still it comes close to the magic of The Seldom Seen Kid.

Regardless, it's easily the best album of 2011.
It explores the ideas of nostalgia and loss of better times, but has a dinstinct hopefully sound which suggests that instead of feeling sad that their youth has gone, they are celebrating the past and what is to come in the future.

The Birds opens the album with a fantastic powerful, rhymthic tune making instantly an Elbow classic. It has an undoubtly high level of maturity for a song.

Lippy Kids is an interesting choice of second track, but it works. It's soft, uplifting tone works well for the full 6 minute run time.

With Love is a bizzare, squeaky clean song that you can't help but assume is tounge-in-cheek. "Fill your boots with love"? C'mon, that can't be serious. The guitar part in the song is strangely catchy, as well as oddly sinister - reminds me of the theme tune to Moon.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtCpttsZiys

Neat Little Rows is an incredible song which combines elements of heavier rock with a cheery chord progression. Garvey's "Dah Dah Dah"s at the end are contagious and known to cause many a sing a long.

Jesus is a Rochdale is probably the weakest song on the album; afterall it sounds more like Guy Garvey is mumbling to himself, rather than singing a melody. However, the strangely beautiful lyrics make up for it.

The Night Will Always Win continues the slower, calmer sound of Jesus is a Rochdale girl, but has a melodic chorus which holds it up quite nicely.

High Ideals makes a sudden dynamic, yet welcome shift. The brass instruments have a "Starlings"esque to them, interrupting an otherwise mellow bass line.

Open Arms is a fantastic sing along, anthem which Elbow are reknowned for. But you can't help but compare it to "One Day Like This". Open Arms feels like the sort of song Elbow felt like they had to make to get single sales. Regardless, the song is a mindblower, the chorus is as catchy as One Day Like This, if a little more smiley faced. Shame it's only 4 minutes.

The Birds (Reprised) is a welcome addition to the album. Admittedly, you'd never listen to it unless you were listening to the album as a whole, but it takes the album to slightly darker areas. As if to represent the sudden realisation that the better times won't return, and that you can't stop getting old.

And of course, Dear Friends ends it all off. And what a way to go. My favourite song on the album, the piano, guitar duet creates a brilliant plinky tune that's irritatingly hard to hum! It finishes the album in celebrating our problems as much as our powers. It's a goodbye to the old times, a farewell to friends as you enter the relms of the future.
The soft horns finish the album in a unique way - as mentioned before on the forums, it sounds like a train leaving the station - perhaps never to return.

Of course, I'll just hit rewind and listen to it all again!

Vying for biggest disappointment of the year right now (Coldplay and Fleet Foxes being the other contenders).