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Drowned In Sound

The achievement of The Seldom Seen Kid is that Elbow manage to be both incredibly consistent and perpetually improving.

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musicOMH.com

The Seldom Seen Kid keeps the band on this upward trajectory.

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New Musical Express

The Seldom Seen Kid is a stunning record, a career-best from a band whose consistency has seldom been matched by any British indie band this decade.

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Filter

It is rare to come across a record that possesses such refinement and stylization, but The Seldom Seen Kid excels at both and was more than worth the wait. [Spring 2008, p.94]

Under The Radar

The Seldom Seen Kid finds Elbow maturing into their sonic ambitions, adding a sorely missed depth to their ever-present innovation. [Summer 2008]

The Onion (A.V. Club)

As ever with Elbow, the album is too long, ever ready to make room for more lush melancholy. But beneath the superficial drabness and gloom is a band as diverse as any of its flashier contemporaries.

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Village Voice

The singer's Mancunian bleariness is such that the bittersweet barfly sing-along 'Grounds for Divorce' rings effortlessly real, while the quasi-spiritual questing of 'Weather to Fly' gets reined in by the sobering image of "pounding the streets where my father's feet/Still ring from the walls."

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Slant Magazine

Though the album's most overt trait is tenderness, the hetero-waltz 'The Fix' (featuring Richard Hawley on vocals) and the Zeppelin-esque 'Grounds for Divorce' provide a certain masculine muscle, making Kid feel like a male sibling of the Cardigans' equally exquisite 'Long Gone Before Daylight.'

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Dot Music

'One Day Like This' rolls out an exultant, almost fulsome, bright blue-sky assurance that really, no matter how gloomy you might feel, a lovely day can put an altogether better complexion on things. If anyone else voiced such sentiments, you'd rightly want to reach into the stereo and slap them hard, but that Elbow make the affirmation ring touchingly true is a testament to their sweet sincerity and principled candour.

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The Guardian

Elbow sound beautifully understated rather than underwhelming, less underachieving than desperately undervalued.

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Uncut

The album works as whole--beginning with an eruptive blast of noise and ending with the gentle farewell that is 'Friend Of Ours.'

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Hot Press

Established fans will be glad to hear Elbow’s sound further maturing; newcomers will hopefully realise that this particular seldom-seen-kid should definitely be heard.

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Observer Music Monthly

Their fourth album picks up where 2005's "Leaders of the Free World" left off.

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Q Magazine

Elbow have hardly stepped out of their comfort zone here, but then their comfort zone has always been oddly unsettling. They're still burning: slowly, maybe, but stronger than ever. [Apr 2008, p.114]

All Music Guide

The Seldom Seen Kid is Elbow's most self-assured and enjoyable album so far.

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Spin

Nicer than Pulp, less sappy than Coldplay, Elbow excel at meticulous orchestral pop that doesn't take itself too seriously.

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NOW Magazine

The combo of ethereal prog rock and lead singer Guy Garvey’s hushed, careworn words couldn’t be finer than on mournful, horn-laden 'Weather To Fly,' while sing-along stadium-ready cliche 'One Day Like This' is the only discernible reminder of why I avoided them in the first place.

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Pitchfork

The ebb and flow of the disc feels like it's advancing some unknowable plot, always the sign of a well sequenced disc but also the bridge between songs like the lovely 'Mirrorball' and the bluesy (in the get-the-Led-out sense) 'Grounds for Divorce.'

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PopMatters

It’s one that we can all get in on and enjoy, as Elbow has once again proved that it’s a band that’s looking forward and doing things in its own inimitable way.

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Lost At Sea

The good news, evident from the very first listen, is a welcome diversity of songwriting and arrangements, on an otherwise basic pop rock record.... The bad news is that diversity alone cannot salvage the album from being their least spontaneous effort yet.

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Mojo

The bass-fuzz stomp and chain-gang holler of 'Grounds for Divorce' couldn't be more immediate, Guy Garvey refusing to let emotional intelligence blackball a decnt tune. [Apr 2008, p.106]

cokemachineglow

If only you didn’t spoil these tender moments that seem to make my heart want to burst out my chest by goofing around all the time.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.9 (out of 10) based on 50 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

David B. gave it a9:
I don't think you'll really appreciate Elbow until you hear them live. Guy's voice is the most powerful in music today!

Wesley W gave it an8:
A perfect album for chilling out by candle light, alone with your thoughts!

Alan S. gave it a10:
This album has received lots of praise nowbut in ten years i bet you this will be a true classic. 11 great songs (or 12 if you brought the CD version). from the brassy blast of the opening track to the blusey bombast of grounds for divorce. From the booming drums of the fix and ' tower crane driver. This is all great.Play it from begging to end on a stereo system for the full experience. BUY IT NEXT TIME YOU GO OUT!!

S D gave it a10:
One of the best albums ever!

Michael R gave it a10:
Keeps growing on you with more listens until you become addicted.

Evil Ed gave it a5:
This album is so overrated. The songs are ok but certainly not great and you get bored after a few listens. I bought this when it first came out and was shocked when it won the Mercury later on the year.

Jeff K gave it a9:
Consistently good songs across the entire album. Sometimes excellence is overlooked, and this is another case. They didn't catch it at WFUV in New York until 2009.

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The Seldom Seen Kid

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