Elbow - "Lippy Kids"

I received some rather nice gifts over Christmas and I hope you did to. However, possibly the best thing I've received from anyone over the past 72 hours has been the unveiling of a new track from one of the world's greatest bands - Elbow.

I was sat on the sofa, late Boxing Day morning, in my pants and dressing gown, twiddling my thumbs whilst cleaning up went on around me when I decided to check on t'internet to see if anything had been going on in the musical world, and I literally squeaked a little bit when I saw that Elbow had unveiled the first song from their recently named upcoming album Build A Rocket Boys! - the follow up to 2008's massive crossover success The Seldom Seen Kid. The song is titled "Lippy Kids" and well, here it is:



Now if you don't find that stunningly beautiful then either:
a) listen to it again, or
b) ask Santa for a soul next Christmas

Having become a massive fan of the whole of Elbow's back catalogue (I'll admit I hadn't heard of them until they released "Grounds for Divorce" as a single, but I investigated and fell in love with them before they rose to success, so my indie cred it kept in tact folks) I was incredibly worried that after the massive success they experienced with The Seldom Seen Kid, they would compromise their sound somehow. When they stated recently that they'd written this album with big venues in mind, my insides became a little more wary. But I kept faith. And I was right to do so.

Gosh this song is beautiful. Lyrically, it's classic Guy Garvey. Eloquent yet colloquial, wise yet human, restrained yet emotional. "Lippy Kids" finds Garvey watching a bunch of youths messing around on street corners and, rather than criticise or have a go like many others would, or delve into his remembered teenage fears and try to warn the kids a la Arcade Fire on The Suburbs, he just stands and admires them from afar, as someone who clearly lived the exact same way years ago. He wonders mildly "do they know those days are golden?", putting him at a mature and wistful adult distance, and then lovingly and with a sly grin in his voice imparts a golden pearl of wisdom - "build a rocket boys".

That's such a beautiful lyric. It's Guy Garvey, of course it bloody is, but still. "Build a rocket boys". He's telling these kids to live beautiful, aspirational lives. And that last word "boys" just brings him so close to them, let's you know that Garvey is singing as a greying, aging man of experience.

Musically, one could argue that it's not exactly the "arena sound" that they'd mentioned. It's only one song, and the rest of the album could sound different, but I think this could fit in an arena. Or a pub. A phonebox. A street corner, seeing as that's where it's set. The music never runs away and crescendos, escalating into a massive chorus - but you don't have to be singing "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" to fill an arena. This song's an exercise in restraint. Garvey never runs up to these kids and tells them what he thinks. He maintains a respectful distance, but the feeling swells in his chest, huge and beautiful like a pair of wings, one of those beautiful things that remains forever unsaid. It's similar in a way to Arcade Fire on The Suburbs - lyrically but also musically. There's a tendency among indie fans to love bands who make music that sounds majestic and massive, but to then recoil when that music is put into a massive venue like Wembley or the O2. But that's pure indie snobbery. I saw Elbow at Wembley in March 2008, at the height of their new popularity. They were stunning and when I reflect on that gig, it made me realise something. That's a massive venue and it was pretty much full. And yet it was such a personal experience for me as I got to see a band I had fallen in love with. Their music possesses a quality that is the key to great pop music - it has universal appeal but at the same time strikes a personal chord which makes that music immediately becomes yours.

Elbow are a band for Wembley Arena as well as dirty suburban street corners in Bury. And hopefully they'll prove that again in 2011.

Build a Rocket Boys!