Giants Of All Sizes (Vinyl LP)

Recorded at Hamburg's Clouds Hill Studio, The Dairy in Brixton, 604 Studios in Vancouver and Blueprint Studios in Salford with additional recording taking place at various band member's home studios spread across Manchester. As with their previous four studio albums, Giants was produced and mixed by Craig Potter. Guests across the album include Jesca Hoop, The Plumedores and South London newcomer Chilli Chilton.

The album is an angry, old blue lament which finds its salvation in family, friends, the band and new life. It is a record that lyrically takes in moments of deep personal loss whilst reflecting its times by confronting head-on the spectres of injustice and division not just in the UK but across the world. It is a record that could only have been made in the 21st Century. Given such bleak, if ultimately redeemed, subject matter, it is also, perversely, the most relaxed record which Elbow have made in some time.

Whilst album closer Weightless has the gossamer melodies and communal harmonies for which the band have latterly been known, this album echoes earlier elbow work at times whilst also breaking new ground. White Noise White Heat is motorik, metal machine soul driven by a vocal that is rage incarnate, Doldrums mixes John Carpenter with The Plastic Ono Band to brilliantly disturbing effect and On Deronda Road hitches stark bass beats and glitches to an ad-hoc choir. Empires delivers dark resignation via an insidious melody and Seven Veils continues the subversion by inverting the perception of elbow as a band for lovers into a band for haters, a double-barrelled fuck-you song par excellence.

The Delayed 3:15 marries mariarchi guitars to jazz dynamics, Morricone via Buddy Rich, and My Trouble is a clockwork, analogue shuffle housing a delicate melody that builds over the course of the song into a fragile monolith to the power of love. Lead track, Dexter and Sinister, released on 10" ahead of the album, encapsulates the whole. A seven-minute musical journey that blends deep bass grooves, sudden keyboard stabs, dislocated piano and guitar runs and soul stylings then abruptly shifts gear, parts the storm clouds and takes wing, flying towards the heat of the sun. It is the soundtrack for these 'hope free, faith free, charity free days', a denial of the divine and a reconciliation, two songs in one song, two emotions for one emotion, human, fragile and brilliant like the album which it opens.

Condition
Media: Mint (M)
Sleeve: Mint (M)

Our Grading Standards
We grade all vinyl using the Goldmine standard:
Mint (M): Perfect, unplayed condition.
Near Mint (NM): Nearly perfect with minimal signs of handling.
Very Good Plus (VG+): Shows light signs of play but plays with minimal surface noise. The most common grade for collectable vinyl.
Very Good (VG): Noticeable marks and some surface noise, but still an enjoyable listen.
Good (G): Heavy wear — for collectors only.

All records are graded visually and by play. Media and sleeve are graded separately.

About Peckham Soul

Visit our physical store at Linnégatan 2, 413 04 Göteborg.
Mon–Tue 11:00–18:00 · Wed–Thu 11:00–18:30 · Fri 11:00–20:30 · Sat 11:00–17:00 · Sun Closed.

We're a specialist vintage vinyl shop with roots in Peckham, London. From our Swedish store we ship across Europe and the EU. Every record in our collection is individually sourced, inspected, and graded. We stock soul, funk, jazz, reggae, punk, indie, psych and beyond — always original pressings, always honestly described.

Shipping & Returns
We ship carefully packed in rigid mailers to protect your record in transit. If a record arrives not as described, we'll sort it — no hassle.