Elbow combine indie sensibilities with a penchant for woozy dreamscapes, cynical romanticism and self-deprecating wit. Formed in 1990 at a sixth-form college in Bury, Lancashire, England, they began specialising in " chilled funk", but changed the direction of their music after unanimously deciding they were "shit". The new songs got notice from both Island Records and Universal, but after signing with both, the band was dropped before anything was released. After this much trouble releasing an album, their debut "Asleep In The Back", released on V2, was a surprise moderate success, gaining substantial critical acclaim and ultimately a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize in 2001. The single "Newborn" also received attention after being banned by Radio 1 for the lyric, "I'll be the corpse in your bathtub." Word of mouth began to work in Elbow's favour in the following year, and their 2003 effort Cast Of Thousands, which sonically followed much the same path (though with added optimism) entered the UK Charts at number 7 to critical acclaim.
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