Record #869: Elliott – False Cathedrals (2000)

It’s no secret that I’ve been known to miss important bands. For example, I missed Louisville emo legends Elliott entirely until I bought a copy of Song in the Air after coming across it in a record store in St. Pete FL in early 2020. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that most people consider that record to be a disappointment. 

The real show, so I was told, was False Cathedrals. So when that record got a repress, I did the same thing I did with Song in the Air: I bought it without listening to it.

And while personally my opinion on its follow up hasn’t been changed, it’s easy to see why this album gets the love it does.

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Record #665: Elliott – Song in the Air (2003)

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As convenient as online shopping has made it to find all the exact records that you’re looking for, perusing a record store can bring gems that you would have otherwise ignored.

Case in point: Song in the Air by Elliott, which I found at Planet Retro in St. Pete while browsing their impressive Punk/Metal section (Kate Bush was in there too, so take “punk/metal” with a grain of salt). Having been tangentially aware of them, I pulled up Spotify and scanned through some of the songs.

What I found was a powerful emo record that gets most of its emotional weight from the intricacy of its songwriting rather than the bombast of its arrangements.

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