Drinking with The Seldom Seen Award
Well, since we’ve been away a lot of things have happened. REM toured England (and Wales) quite wonderfully, Stepehen Malkmus and his Jicks visited as well (and proceeded to have a little trouble with doors) and British Sea Power, amongst others, got a Mercury Award nomination. And then proceeded not to win it. The award instead went to Elbow for their album The Seldom Seen Kid. Those of you who know me (and maybe even those who don’t) can probably guess my reaction; shock, outrage, righteous indignation, chairs flying, threats to the awards panel… all things i would have done had I not – whisper it – actually agreed with them. Earlier in the year I said that it would take something very special to match BSP’s Do You Like Rock Music? Elbow have managed to produce exactly that. On the face of it, The Seldom Seen Kid is exactly what you would expect from Elbow. Stylistically its no great departure from what has come before, but rather a further evolution in their sound. What it has evolved into is an album which is not just one of the best albums of the year, but one which in time I believe will be seen as one of the best albums of the decade and – perhaps – of all time. A bold claim, I know, and one I hesitate to commit to for now, but which I will be returning to in months and years along the line. The Seldom Seen Kid is a record which sounds delicate and emotional in places, weary and poingant in others, but also deeply ambitious throughout. This ambition is shown nowhere better than on the epic The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver, around which the album is built around. What makes it all work is that Elbow are singing about things close to them, things which have affected them in recent times; births, deaths, everything in between. Without meaning to sound like too much of a twat, its this anchor of personal experience which, ahem, invests the album with an emotional honesty and stops it from ever becoming preachy, smug or overblown. The ambition is tempered by the emotion and this results in one of the most beautiful and fragile records of recent times, a record for you to emerse yourself in. Forced into giving it a mark, for me, right now, its a 9 but its quite likely that it might even turn into a 10 if time treats it well.
In other record releasing news, Jim Moray‘s Low Culture also hit the shops and it did not dissapoint. For the most part, the electronics which helped get Jim noticed were put away, a decision which pays off, allowing the songs and Jims musical talent to shine through. Moray, however, isn’t afraid to challenge the listener, soemthign he does doubly so on Lucy Wan. Not only is it the story of a incestuous love affair ending in murder, but also features – shock, horror – a rapper. I know, it doesn’t sound like much, but remember that this is folk music, a genre which sits about as comfortably with rap as Gary Glitter in a Mothercare. Rufford Park Poachers and I’ll Go List For A Sailor are fine examples of just how fun folk can be and put efforts by many contemporary bands to shame. 7
Also to be noted are the things which haven’t happened since we were last here. The Flowers Of Hell still havnt released their second album (although a 3 track EP is available) and neither have My Latest Novel. Also nothing as of yet about the new album from Spectrum, although Sonic has said that they will be playing some shows in the UK come December.
