There doesn't appear to be an
Elbow
consensus: they are their own band; they are the
Coldplay
it's OK to like; they are the
Talk Talk
for people who've never heard
(or
Catherine Wheel
); they are somewhere between
Supertramp
and
Superchunk
; they are part of a succession of over-introspective, twaddle-peddling British
rock
bands. They are most of these things -- the positive things, at least -- at various points. On
Cast of Thousands
,
's second album, the group does deserve to take its rightful place as one of the most respectable
bands going. What separates this album from the debut isn't all that apparent on the surface. Downcast songs about relationships remain the stock in trade, but the sound has made natural advancements and the quality control is less prone to malfunctioning. In other words, they have followed through on whatever promise
Asleep in the Back
held; you could sense this would happen, just as you could sense that, after
Lazer Guided Melodies
Spiritualized
would make an even better record the next time out. However predictable, the minor differences add up to a lot. More so than ever,
's greatest asset is that the band is capable of making big sounds without being bombastic or flashy. And they've tempered the characteristics that got them tagged as sad sacks, although that fact is mostly apparent in the lyrics ("place" rhymes with "virgin mother what's-her-face"; the payoff line in opener
"Ribcage"
goes "I wanted to explode, to pull my ribs apart and let the sun inside"). The only setback?
Gospel
choirs. Hopefully, at some point before they make their next album, they'll realize that their songs don't need background vocals from an entire congregation in order to feel redemptive -- or powerful. [
V2
issued the album in the U.S. five months after the original U.K. release.] ~ Andy Kellman