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Nov 13, 2015The result is more urgent, less reassuringly structured than your typical Elbow record.
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Nov 6, 2015As you’d expect from Elbow’s frontman, the songs on this debut solo album rarely stray too far from the sleeve on which Guy Garvey wears his heart.
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Oct 29, 2015Courting the Squall is a collection of songs from a musician unencumbered by expectation or industry pressure, just Guy Garvey recording a bunch of tunes with his friends and seeing where his muse leads them. That free spirit gives his poignant solo material a fresh buoyancy that still sounds intimate, due to his estimable songwriting gifts and the band’s ability to not overthink these compositions and just let the musical magic happen naturally.
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Oct 28, 2015This is the best album Garvey has worked on since The Seldom Seen Kid.
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UncutOct 27, 2015Lyrically, as ever, Garvey's skill lies in combining romantic poeticism with sandpaper wit. [Dec 2015, p.80]
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MojoOct 27, 2015Garvey's poetics have acquired more acuity. [Dec 2015, p.86]
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Q MagazineOct 27, 2015Liberated from Elbow's obligation to write at least a few songs big enough for arena stages and radio playlists, Garvey revels in lovingly crafted intimacy. [Dec 2015, p.102]
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Nov 2, 2015As down-to-earth and likeable as its creator, this is an enjoyable collection that mostly avoids the pitfalls of solo albums by members of successful bands that are still very much a going concern.