"Listening to the modern Britpop group Elbow is like watching raindrops slide down windows during summer rain showers; mesmerizing, somber, gloomy but relaxing. The Manchester, England quintet has mastered the dream pop style that's almost reminiscent of a psychedelic pop style of an earlier decade, separating themselves from the nearest pop/rock band with great success. Rocking the U.S. and European charts with hit singles and albums, Elbow has enjoyed all the success that comes with thriving music careers, exerting the power to create albums that only get better through the years.Elbow began as a project of Guy Garvey (vocals), Richard Jupp (drums), Craig Potter (organ), Mark Potter (guitar) and Pete Turner (bass), all of whom met each other while at college in Bury in the ‘90s. Establishing a home base of Manchester, the newly-formed (and self-proclaimed ""prog without the solos"") rock band started out by playing gigs at various venues locally before finally signing with Island Records in 1998. A series of labels left Elbow quickly blowing through both Island and EMI before finally settling on the Manchester independent label Uglyman. The releasing of the EPs Newborn and Any Day Now on that label led to the attention of V2, who signed the group with a contract and led to the release of the 2001 album Asleep in the Back. The album got a nod for that year's Mercury Prize, making it across the pond as a U.S. release in 2002.Elbow's 2004 album, Cast of Thousands, also fared well with American listeners, making the Billboard 200 and Top Heatseekers charts. 2005's Leaders of the Free World, a politically-charged release, also made the charts, but it wasn't until Elbow's 2008 release, The Seldom Seen Kid, that the band's name really skyrocketed in the music industry. The album reached the number two spot on the Top Heatseekers chart, also making the Billboard 200 and European charts."