Elbow
Monarch, London ****

According to the playwright Dennis Potter's Singing Detective, elbow is the loveliest word in the English language. And Elbow, a quintet from Bury with sensitive souls and a sure touch for multi-layered anthems, certainly live up to that loveliness.

The band are nervous: guitarist Mark Potter and bassist Pete Turner barely look up at the crowd when they walk on stage. When Potter's guitar then fails to twang, the probability of tonight going to plan seems doubtful. But after some fiddling with the amp he is back on his stool and punching the air with glee. "There is no gig without Mark," singer Guy Garvey laughs, ruffling his friend's hair, before continuing the aptly named Can't Stop. This camaraderie is not only sweet, it is necessary. Like Radiohead, to whom the band have already been compared, there is so much going on that everyone's role is vital. While singer Garvey commands attention with his swaggering stage presence and by sliding from a whisper to a yell in one note, the rest of the band build up a wall of sound that is overwhelming.

Elbow aren't content merely to make you sigh: they want to blow you away. As Garvey plays guitar his head bounces off the mike stand, but he carries on, oblivious to everything but the music. Who can blame him? Listening to New Born mutate from gentle country pop to cymbal-crashing epic, you realise how long it has been since a band made you fall in love with them at first sight and how special Elbow are.

When the song ends, the crowd are momentarily stunned into silence before bursting into riotous applause. Garvey looks over at Potter for approval and is met by a smile. Elbow are a band of few words, but big emotions.