The roller coaster of emotions and life events, personal highlights and lowlights that come with reaching a certain age is behind The Take Off and Landing of Everything - Elbow's sixth studio album and follow-up to Build a Rocket, Boys! and the Dead in the Boot compilation.
With 10 tracks, singer Guy Garvey and company present nearly an hour of what they do best - sensitive, soul-searching music that takes its time to tell its story. They like their anthems. Several tracks exceed six minutes, a couple are over seven. It's like Bury, Manchester's response to Sheffield's Arctic Monkeys and their short sharp indie rock bursts.
Elbow's most important instrument is Garvey's voice, rich with feeling - be it joy, pain or loss.
There are too many highlights to mention, but Fly Boy Blue/Lunette is both fun and melancholy and first single New York Morning is vintage epic singalong Elbow.
