Build a Rocket Boys!

Writing began in January 2010 on the Isle of Mull, and the record circles nostalgia and the feeling of having grown up. Its working title was Lippy Kids. Jesus Is a Rochdale Girl, based on a poem Garvey had written about his first love, set the tone. When he struggled with lyrics he visited Peter Gabriel at Real World Studios, and the band played songs to him over video calls with a laptop on the piano. Craig Potter produced and mixed at Blueprint, a grand piano was lifted by crane into the top floor of the studio, and the 55-strong Hallé Youth Choir sang on six tracks, most noticeably With Love and Open Arms.

It entered at two in the UK with first-week sales of 78,177, kept off the top by Adele's 21, and sold 327,000 copies in 2011. Metacritic scores it 82 and it was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Pitchfork's Ian Cohen gave it 6.9, calling it the band's quietest record and the closest thing to a Garvey solo album. Lippy Kids was singled out by several critics, and Neat Little Rows was the lead single. Elbow and Robinson's Brewery also released a cask ale named after the album.