Elway – The Best of All Possible Worlds

It’s a slightly odd experience reviewing an Elway record as I confess to not knowing their music well, despite them being constantly name checked via adjacent bands I love like The Menzingers, Banner Pilot and The Lawrence Arms. I have no excuse as to why I’ve not spent the time with Elway, but wow, what a mistake that was. After spending time listening to their latest LP, The Best of All Possible World (released April 1^st via Red Scare Industries) this is clearly a band who have matured and are on top fucking form.

Pangloss simply sets the standard for album opening tracks, teasing low guitars, what sounds like a cornet funeral song building up to a slow, rousing verse…

“I’d believe you if you said, we were already dead.

That there was no hope or rescue or return

I can see us plugged instead, from the foot of our death beds

With nothing of a flourish or concern”

…before really coming to life in a wonderfully tuneful maelstrom of Brian Van Proven’s spikey riffs urging on Tim Browne’s dirty vocal dancing over and through the pounding rhythms of William Orender (Drums) and Joe Henderer (Bass).

Nothing like putting your best foot forward here lads, but if the rest of the record is anywhere near this we are seriously in for a treat. Fortunately, the rest of The Best of All Possible Worlds keeps the standards high, another highlight being The English Wishbone featuring a chorus that would take your breath away if you weren’t already bouncing, hands in the air and shouting along with it.

Yes, there is the odd drop in quality; The Rest is Posthumous and Maximum Entropy are just sort of fine and only get called out as everything else is just so bloody solid. I almost put Deep Fakes in the same category until the bridge that borrows from an Ennio Morricone scored Sergio Leone western leads to an unexpected but very welcome galloping metal riffing in the outro. My Blue Hour somehow blends Propagandhi and Jawbreaker seamlessly into an almost perfect 4 minute slice of Elway’s distinct brand of melodic punk. I say almost as it doesn’t quite reach the heights on Pangless, but along with The Jetty, forms a musical one-two punch that closes the LP in some style.

If you are an idiot like me and have not invested time in Elway yet, then I implore to you to change that; The Best of All Possible Worlds is the result of a band at the top of their game – fantastic from start to finish and one surely to adorn many ‘best of 2022’ lists come December.

The Best of All Possible Worlds dropped on April 1^st via long time label Red Scare Industries. It is available via their bandcamp or direct from the label store.