His conversation is peppered with comments on the state of the world which attest to his thoughtful nature. Like his ideas on how to better assimilate the world's 50 million refugees, and his admiration for the Spirit of New Zealand (which he noticed in Auckland Harbour) and the associated trust's programmes for at-risk youth - "It's a much better approach than treating them all like criminals and then being surprised when we end up with huge riots."
It's been a big couple of years for the band since they were last here.
Not only did they perform at the London Olympics closing ceremony, but they also composed the theme song for the event, First Steps. They played a memorable evening set on a Glastonbury main stage, and delivered another outstanding album (their sixth), The Take Off And Landing Of Everything.
Despite 24 years together, the band seem to be just as passionate as ever about their craft, and indeed, seem to be at their peak.
"We still have the same nerves before we go on, we still have the same arguments over the setlist, we still have the same desire to get things as good as we can, and if we have a falling out, it still feels like the world is going to end, for about an hour, and then no one can stand it, and the apologies fly," Garvey laughs.
"It still feels like we're totally fresh to it, but all of us still love what we do, and the thought of losing what we do together is more than any one of us can bear, so we do our best."
Plus, they continue to find new musical and lyrical contexts for their songs - despite finding that some core themes come round again, Garvey finds ageing creates a different perspective.
"I wrote an awful lot about growing old with people when I was younger, but when I hit 40, I stopped doing that" he says with a laugh. "Strangely I've started writing more songs about being younger. I can't get to the bottom of it!"
And shaking up one's life is always good song writing inspiration too - much of The Take Off And Landing evolved after Garvey and his long-term partner split up, and he decided he needed to get away, so moved to New York for a while.
"It's a privilege to be able to do that sort of thing, first and foremost. But at the same time, it's always an interesting experience, trying to feel comfortable in a country that's not yours. And though it didn't solve things for me, being able to move to another wonderful, vibrant city for a while gave me good perspective."
Now though, he's happy to be back to a life of touring.
"I was in an old pub in Manchester yesterday, chatting with a good friend of mine, and there was an old guy near us, with a very patient younger man listening to him, and he was talking about an old hillside railway in Alicante with these coin operated ticket machines, marvelling at these really small details. He was probably someone who lived in Manchester his whole life, and this Spanish trip remained so exotic and exciting to him, and it showed how important that trip was to his life. And it made me think how important it is to keep travelling, in order to move forward, and broaden horizons."
Live music profile
Who: Guy Garvey, singer of Elbow
Where and when: Performing at the Powerstation on Saturday November 1 and Sunday November 2
Listen to: The Take Off And Landing Of Everything (2014)
