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Sep 23, 2025 By Matt Conner Photography by Athena Caramitsos

Guy Garvey is having fun these days. That may sound simple, but for the longtime frontman of Elbow, this joyful era marks a creative high point. More than two decades and 10 albums in, Garvey and his bandmates—Pete Turner (bass), Craig Potter (keyboards), Mark Potter (guitar), and Alex Reeves (drums)—are crafting some of their most surprising music by following their instincts wherever they lead. “We’ve always admired artists who stretch themselves and shapeshift,” he says. “It’s terribly boring when a band finds a groove and stays there.”

That drive fuels 2024’s AUDIO VERTIGO, Elbow’s 10th album, and this year’s follow-up EP AUDIO VERTIGO ECHO, releases that are both alive with possibility and grounded in the band’s storied history. Formed in Bury, England (in Greater Manchester), in the early 1990s, they officially took the name Elbow in 1997 and released their debut album, Asleep in the Back, in 2001. Since then they have become one of Britain’s most enduring and decorated rock bands. Garvey and company won the 2008 Mercury Prize for The Seldom Seen Kid and three Ivor Novello Awards for songwriting. That long arc of achievement gives the group the confidence and freedom to keep chasing whatever sparks its collective curiosity.

That said, Elbow’s new material carried an adventurous streak that surprised even Garvey. “Maybe in years to come we’ll look back and go, ‘What were we thinking?’ But for now it’s really great fun,” he says. “Elbow will never be anything other than an album band, but we really, really enjoyed adding the EP to the album. That felt like we’ve discovered this new territory and we get to hang out there all we want.”

Given Elbow’s expansive sound and keen interest in exploring as they go, an EP in the same creative mood might have felt out of bounds in the past. Garvey is clear that he’s not interested in sonically settling. However, the band’s freedom also means they can stand still, if preferred. “If it felt like we’d dialed it in, that’s my worst fear,” Garvey says. “When we move next, who knows where we’re going to go? But to say, like, ‘Hey, should we do another EP? In this space, in this vibe.’ And everybody was really enthusiastic and dead proud of the EP.”

The internal permission felt is a byproduct of shedding the pressures that once followed the band. Asked whether he still feels any career expectations, Garvey is quick to answer. “Territories, conquering territories, growing the band in different parts of the world isn’t something that motivates us anymore. We do well where we do well.”

While it sounds thrilling to explore new space, Garvey admits that he’s been slow to adjust at times compared to his bandmates. “I’ve always admired artists who stretch themselves and shapeshift. But I’ll be honest, moving into new territory, certain people drag their heels more than others.

“There’s one song on the album [‘Her to the Earth’] where I was baffled by the piece of music that the boys were making. I mean, that is the best word for it. I’d been in the next room and came in and was like, ‘Jesus, what are you doing?’ Pete and Craig said simultaneously, ‘It’s fun!’ And I’m like, ‘Well, I can’t not be the fun guy.’ It’s become one of my favorite songs on the record.”

Even as Elbow experiment with offbeat grooves and dance-floor rhythms, Garvey keeps his own creative well informed by the inspiring work of others. As he curates his radio show for BBC6, Garvey points to Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s “Boys with the Characteristics of Wolves” as one catalytic example that excites him.

“I know what’s happened there from listening to that one song,” said Garvey. “They’ve said, ‘Okay, let’s move away from this sort of data mash, crunched-up, processed thing,’ which I love that they do. But this sounds like they’ve sat very close together with amplifiers and they’re throwing it down old school…I love that when I can hear where my artist has been for a while.

“I suppose the shame for people who don’t wait for albums and listen to releases like that, or EPs, if you’re drip-fed single songs all year round, you don’t get that reveal of where my artists have been and what they have been doing?”

American fans, or “old friends” as Garvey refers to them, will be able to hear where Elbow has been for the last long while on their upcoming fall tour. The dates are Elbow’s first U.S. stops since 2020, and Garvey says the trip feels like a reunion.

“Coming to the States is literally visiting old friends…. It’s not about let’s see if we can get the band any bigger over there. We haven’t been to the States since we made Flying Dream 1. So we’re actually touring two and a half albums. Seven tunes of a 19-song set are new. We’ll space them out. We won’t front-load anybody.”

Rather than map out the future, Garvey is content to keep his map uncharted. With a new tour on deck and ideas still flowing, Elbow’s next chapter will unfold the same beautiful, instinctual way it always has.

www.elbow.co.uk

Read our review of AUDIO VERTIGO.

Read our interview with Elbow’s Guy Garvey on AUDIO VERTIGO.

Garvey was also one of the artists on the cover of our 20th Anniversary Issue.

Elbow 2025 North American Tour Dates:

09/26 – 9:30 Club – Washington, DC
09/27 – Brooklyn Bowl Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
09/29 – Brooklyn Steel – Brooklyn, NY
10/02 – Roadrunner – Boston, MA
10/03 – MTELUS – Montreal, QC
10/04 – HISTORY – Toronto, ON
10/06 – The Riviera Theatre – Chicago, IL
10/07 – First Avenue – Main Room – Minneapolis, MN
10/09 – Summit – Denver, CO
10/10 – The Union Event Center – Salt Lake City, UT
10/12 – The Showbox – Seattle, WA
10/13 – Revolution Hall – Portland, OR
10/15 – Fox Theater – Oakland, CA
10/16 – The Wiltern – Los Angeles, CA

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