Build A Rocket Boys!
by Elbow

From Squonk007 05/03/2026 13:22 | #314272

A solid album bookended by the best 2 tracks. One or two not upto the usual standard but the album is a good Sunday listen.

Distinctly Elbow and a great follow up - I like their sound so don't change too much

Following The Seldom Seen Kid was a difficult task, but I reckon they did a great job on this. The album title Build A Rocket Boys is a lyric from Lippy Kids, which is a beautiful song and probably my favourite on the album. My other highlights are Open Arms (surprisingly overlooked in my opinion) and Dear Friends. Again Elbow produce an album littered with beautiful songs.

A decent follow up to, the seldom seen kid, but that's it for me. It's all very competent and well done, but there's certainly no surprises here. It's what you would expect from Elbow, but I want it all to be less predictable. Still, it's a decent record, just not that interesting.

This is a goddamn beautiful record.

From bojolpif71 02/01/2015 10:53 | #133562

Fan de Elbow , donc bon album.. Mais pas le meilleur de la longue liste des productions de Elbow

Good album
A little inconsistent though

"Lippy Kids" is incredible

71/100

From zdwyatt 10/24/2013 19:15 | #89095 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Elbow have self-classified themselves as "prog without the solos," an assessment I cannot dispute. There are times when Guy Garver sounds exactly like Peter Gabriel, which I consider high praise (even if it's a tad disconcerting for the listener). And although I think Build a Rocket Boys! could do with some nice prog solos, I still find it oddly compelling.

Top tracks:
Jesus Is a Rochdale Girl
Lippy Kids
The River
With Love

Elbow with the previous, 'The Seldom Seen Kid' from 2008, made it to the top in Europe, but the quintet remains stubbornly go his own way.

Thus flourishes opener 'The Birds' (eight minutes, and not a second too long) after five minutes in all his orchestral beauty, the long run is remarkably quiet mastered, giving you the control to the right throws. At the end of the plate gives the song a short reprise, sung, no, grumbled by one John Moseley.

A Elbow-song is not complete without choir, and so does The Halle Youth Choir arranged vocal support like in the closing "Dear Friends" good to Elbow tradition unforgettable envoi - a few times and may even show up prominently.

There arise some highlights from it: 'The River', with also uses only a dilapidated piano, based on the contrast between the vacillating Garvey and comforting chorus, and "With Love", that swings like Elbow rarely swings: as Manchester Gospel does not exists, is hereby invented the genre.

But unfortunately one less number: it has something to temerige "Open Arms".

As 'The River' is 'Jesus Is a Rochdale Girl' all frills stripped, a whisper, a bass drum, an acoustic guitar and a stray keyboard enough to become one of the most moving songs from it all with golden edges deposited Elbow-songbook.

The angular songs that without an Elbow-plate nor complete (see also 'Grounds for Divo Rice' on 'The Seldom Seen Kid "and" Snooks (Progress Report) "to" Cast of Thousands ") are the blue mutant' Neat Little Rows' and it - despite strings and a gentle piano melody - coarse grained "High Ideals.

You can get your ears open, and yet they warm your soul.

Build a rocket, boys, to blow up the people who thought it would be a good idea to release this!