Self-described at one point as “prog without the solos,” Elbow’s brand of mournful sentimentality has proven time and again to be infectious. The Seldom Seen Kid is their tribute to a life lived full of good times and mornings after, from the gorgeously romantic “Mirrorball” (“we took the town to town last night/we kissed like we invented it”) to meditations on legacy and “pounding the streets with my father’s feet” (“Weather To Fly”). Musically it feels like a noir-film jukebox exploded all over Radiohead; the orchestral flourishes of “The Fix” and “The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver” swimming amongst the stomp-clang rock of “Grounds For Divorce” and grand finale “One Day Like This.” Like most of Elbow’s output, it’s all heart and brain wrapped tightly in a smoke-scented scarf. 

– Alex Riggs