In an interview with NME, frontman Guy Garvey said about the new album, “it’s in very sharp contrast to the last record. The last one was made in lockdown and was very gentle, wistful and based on life, childhood, memories and fatherhood – all these very wholesome things. With the bruising that the pandemic had given everyone, it felt the right time to do a record like that….That’s a beautiful, gentle record, whereas this is groove-based. It tackles some pretty full-on subjects, and it’s loads of fun as well.”

Garvey divulged that the new studio effort by the band tackles some weighty topics that he feels the time is just right for. He added, “It deals with some pretty inky stuff. There are a couple of wholesome tunes on there, but by and large there’s everything from a maniacal rant from the point of view of a frontman who’s lost his mind, to really awful portraits of toxic relationships failing – all set to a very thick, guitar, drum and groove-based thing. It doesn’t sound like anything that we’ve done before. There’s everything from Stiff Records and what Elvis Costello was doing in his early years, right through to Afrika Bambaataa. We’re wearing our influences a bit more proudly.”

Formed in 1997 in the Greater Manchester area, Elbow came into considerable success after the release of their fourth album, The Seldom Seen Kid-scoring the band their first Mercury Music Prize and Brit Award for Best British Group. From there, Elbow continued to release new material at a steady rate, even having one of their songs (“Mirrorball”) covered by none other than Peter Gabriel.

For their upcoming tour, Garvey has revealed that the band fully intend to provide a career-spanning setlist, saying, “the first time we played arenas, we didn’t have enough big numbers to do an arena set….we had a B-stage, a walkway, all this stuff – but now we’ve got more than enough massive songs. I think it’s going to be loads of fun.”

Tickets for the arena tour can be purchased here, ahead of the general sale on 27 October.

Elbow UK Tour:

07/05/2024 – Brighton Centre – Brighton
09/05 – O2 Arena – London
10/05 – Resorts World Arena – Birmingham
11/05 – OVO Hydro – Glasgow
12/05 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
14/05 – Co-op Live – Manchester
15/05 – Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham

The song, ‘Angela’s Eyes’, is more animated than Elbow’s usual output. The strangled guitars give way to a undulating synthline, carried over shuffling drums and a hypnotizing bassline. Garvey’s vocals seem more terse than usual too, creating a sense urgency not usually found in Elbow.

Garvey said on his Facebook when he announced the album: “Elbow graciously gave me some time to write a solo album. I’ve wanted to try for years and I’m really proud of it. “Solo” because I wrote everything but I was far from alone. I invited my favourite players outside of elbow (many of them also my favourite people) and we moved fast, drank a lot and had what can only be described as a massive laugh along the way.”

The release of ‘Angela’s Eyes’ has also been accompanied by a video, which you can watch below:

A press release for the music video states that: “Filmed at The Carlton Club in Whalley Range, Manchester by long-time visual collaborators Soup Collective, the short sees Guy and band the focus of the attentions of a crowd of lascivious women and was inspired by a documentary on London’s ’60s strip clubs.”

Garvey will also be touring later this year:

01/12 London O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
02/12 London O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
04/12 Manchester Albert Hall
05/12 Manchester Albert Hall
08/12 Glasgow O2 ABC