Leaders of the Free World

On its third full-length studio outing, the Manchester, England, quintet Elbow deftly balances ambition and accessibility, creating yet another fascinating album in the process. As with its lauded predecessors (and many of the best rock records, in general), LEADERS OF THE FREE WORLD reveals its charms with repeated listens; although frontman Guy Garvey's plaintive vocals and the band's lush arrangements are immediately striking, their subtleties are slowly unveiled.
The weighty opening number, "Station Approach," gradually gains steam, while "Picky Bastard" coasts along on a slinky, mischievous melody. The album's centerpiece, appropriately enough, is the fierce title track, which features scathing guitar work that plays off of chiming keyboard lines. Elbow also excels at soaring songs of heartbreak, as best evidenced on "My Very Best," where Garvey emotes "you've gone and made a beautiful hole in my heart" over a swooning string section. Although Elbow doesn't quite have the mass appeal of its contemporary Coldplay, the group's staunch adventurousness is one of its finest attributes, and those willing to spend some time with LEADERS OF THE FREE WORLD will be rewarded with a rich, dynamic record.