• Record Label: V2
  • Release Date: Jan 22, 2002
User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 25 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 25
  3. Negative: 2 out of 25

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  1. Jul 31, 2012
    8
    Low key debut that lays out the blueprint that Elbow went onto develop and expand on. It's got a very strong first half but I feel it tapers off a bit in the 2nd half. That said, the closer "Scattered Black and Whites" is one of the albums highlights. Overall, it's a soft and gentle record with some really beautiful songs. Garveys vocals are perfect for the delicate instrumentation andLow key debut that lays out the blueprint that Elbow went onto develop and expand on. It's got a very strong first half but I feel it tapers off a bit in the 2nd half. That said, the closer "Scattered Black and Whites" is one of the albums highlights. Overall, it's a soft and gentle record with some really beautiful songs. Garveys vocals are perfect for the delicate instrumentation and like the records the produced afterwards, it's a record that just makes you feel warm inside. Collapse
  2. Dec 10, 2010
    10
    Absolutely beautiful album. Its filled with eerie and melancholy sounds mixed with some sweet riffs and effects. Definately worth a listen. Slow, moody, at times melancholy, but by no means boring.
  3. MrMikey
    Aug 24, 2004
    8
    Cracking debut, 10 years in the making. Newborn is the stand out track for me as I just feel that its a full on aural assault of the best possible kind. Slow to mid tempo? Yes. Boring? Anything but.
  4. Craig
    Jan 14, 2004
    10
    one of the best debut albums i've heard in the past few years.
  5. [Anonymous]
    Oct 11, 2002
    10
    simply one of the best, most emotional and mind-blowing records of all time. hard to imagine it's a debut.
  6. MarkJ.
    Jun 28, 2002
    9
    It's slow but not boring
  7. MikeS.
    Mar 11, 2002
    2
    Very disappointed, way too slow and boring for my taste. Does not come close to living up to the great reviews IMO. It basically sounds like a bad Catherine Wheel CD.
  8. Tee
    Mar 7, 2002
    3
    boring. no two ways about it.

Awards & Rankings

Metascore
82

Universal acclaim - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 19
  2. Negative: 0 out of 19
  1. Elbow understand how to make an album flow without sacrificing the unexpected turns any good record should have.
  2. You'll struggle to find any filler on a record that works magnificently as a whole.
  3. 80
    One listen to Asleep in the Back's "Newborn" invokes a feeling of unmistakable contemplation and a sense of beauty entirely absent from the repertoires of the Oasis and Verves of Brit rock's last generation.