ALL THE CLOCKS GIVE IN: Elbow's "Cast of Thousands", lost in the back catalogue...

Elbow has a pretty esteemed career spanning many albums and many years alike, granted mainstream success with their direction change in "The Seldom Seen Kid" on the back of their lead single "One Day Like This". With a band such as this, its worth to take a look back through their older releases as that is where their best material may lie, as proven by the wonderful compilation "dead in the boot", showing that even their b-sides have more than enough merit.

"Cast of Thousands" is one such album, building upon the promise of their debut, its a worthy successor with the benefit of hindsight and time to further refine their sound. This culminates in some of their most heartfelt tracks to date, such as the wonderfully sombre "Switching Off", discussing the idea of what your last memory would be on the brink of death. Comparatively to a device, being switched off. "I choose my final scene today," [Guy] Garvey poses as one of the tracks final lines. It's a premise that may have been approached in music preceding, but it has never seen such execution. Garvey's voice perfectly complements the angelic backing, standing as one of the album's peak moments.

Rewinding back a few tracks, the opener "Ribcage" has a similar tone but with a bit more of a bite to it. How it feels to finally let any shame built up to be finally exposed. It sets the stage for the kind of themes to expect, its climax purely epic as the choir pipes up on the central lyric: "Let the sun inside." This continues with the equally theatrical "Fallen Angel" and "Fugitive Motel", bringing sweeping instruments to the forefront as Garvey's unique presence takes hold.

It comes to a bizarre halt as "Snooks (Progress Report)" comes in with its thumping drumbeat looming ever over you throughout the tracks runtime and an urgent scream runs amuck. As the title suggests its a track of progress, catching up with friends and all is fine, but they've all moved on and the drunkard is alone under the "absurd" moon. It doesn't hurt. Merely an issue of stilted progress. It's message may be on the straight and narrow but it's unique instrumentation pulls it back, standing as one of the more memorable tracks alongside "Switching Off".

The delightfully titled "Crawling With Idiot", chronicles the everyday life of being surrounded by what the titular idiots, locking eyes with a complete stranger who seems just that little bit different. A murky track, matching its subject matter in its backing of a sleazy one night stand. It isn't serious, "I just need arms tonight." It slows further as it all blends together, almost mirroring what could be the narrator's drunken state.

This is before it builds into the glimmer of hope that is "Grace Under Pressure", a 5-minute crescendo that doesn't hold back. There's still an optimistic outlook: "We still believe in love, so fuck you." Nothing can bring you down when love is on your side. It's a delightful track, heavenly in nature as its lyrics are. It snaps your attention back into place before it even has a chance to even lose it.

"Cast of Thousands" stands as a unique flicker in Elbow's discography, lost in their back catalogue due to its fortuitous nature, but once it's cracked and you finally get into it, it becomes one of their most rewarding releases to date. Just stick with it, it may seem insignificant or directionless at first, but the rewards will be reaped. 

LIFE BEFORE THE ROAD: Ricky Gervais' "The Office" and the art of the mockumentary...

Hugely successful and brutally deadpan, "The Office" when it was first released made its mark, commenting on the often awkward nature of social interactions between employees in what can only be described as a dreary workplace, shifting paper to the highest bidder in Wernham Hogg.

Now before everyone's favourite David Brent moves onto life on the road, it's a good time to take a look back at the show that collectively launched the careers of both Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as well as being regarded as one of the best British sitcoms of all time. The latter of which I'd be inclined to agree with. It begins as something unassuming but by the time I hit the third episode and Tim is given a certain inflatable birthday present I honestly couldn't stop laughing, bizarrely what could be considered the most immature joke of the series is what made it click.

You start by squirming in your seat as you're presented by these clumsy social scenarios but as you become accustomed to the humour on offer, it's the gift that keeps on giving, it's short length allowing it to maintain its freshness and never loses steam which is ultimately funny in itself given the situation that these characters find themselves placed in. A dead-end job in the paper industry with a desire for something more, ranging from psychology and illustration to the certainly more ambitious reunion of Foregone Conclusion. The mockumentary style that it is presented in works not only in the manner that it certainly saves a few quid but also in accentuating what it strives to be. The people who you see are their characters and this is just their way of life, showing further insight into what they're thinking with a straightforward interview format to justify their actions and make it so a certain Brent isn't completely detestable.

Whilst there's no question as to whether or not you should give this a watch, you'll certainly find out quickly if it is indeed your thing, "The Office" is not the first of its kind, at least in style. Ranging all the way back into the '60s with the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" to the modern vampire undertaking seen in "What We Do in the Shadows" the mockumentary has been staple in both film and television for decades with its often absurd nature, especially in the latter film. It's potential for parody is immense and can often be used to shine a light on certain issues or topics that it may feel relevant to discuss from the perspective of characters who may unwittingly be apart of the issue present. A prominent example of this would be in "The Office", whilst the show does not center around this, the character of Gareth is hardly a gentleman, let's say.

A short and unsuspecting series about office workers proves to be a hilarious romp with an interesting angle to back it up, leaving me waiting for the return of Brent, coming sooner rather than later thankfully. As the former Wernham Hogg boss rather optimistically posed: "Live fast, die old."