“This is Elbow’s third album, where they start to find their feet. After their electronica-leaning debut Asleep in the Back, and the rockier ‘like Coldplay but better’ Cast Of Thousands, this one is rooted in a more emotional, and political, place. . Guy Garvey is a great lyricist and a heartfelt, authentic singer. I particularly love that his Mancunian accent is well-heard in his singing, he never attempts a Bono-like Americanisation, or the dumbing down of Chris Martin/Coldplay’s radio-friendly fodder. . What made Elbow different from their contemporaries at the time – bands like Doves, Travis and the aforementioned Coldplay, is that they were (and still are, though I’m not so convinced by their latest album) genuinely adventurous in their music. We’re not talking Radiohead levels of creative development, but check out the opener Station Approach as a good example of this. It sounds like a familiar melancholic rock song, all acoustic guitars and plinky repeating piano chords. Over this, we have Garvey’s ‘man of the people’ vocals and lyrics: “you little sod, I love your eyes.” And then, at the 2.50m mark, the drums come in. Big drums, building to an emotional crescendo. “Be everything to me tonight.” . Other highlights are Forget Myself and the title track, Leaders of the Free World, which is a barnstorming, fist-raising heckle to the US Commander in Chief, a subject matter covered by Radiohead three years’ previously in the title of their Hail To The Thief album. “Passing the gun from father to feckless son, we’re climbing a landslide where only the good die young.” . #elbow @elbowofficial #leadersofthefreeworld #stationapproach #forgetmyself #manchesterbands #indiemusic #britishpop #recordcollection #nowplaying #randomrecordreview https://www.instagram.com/p/B9t0jUBJOta/?igshid=r0v6pg2cqnq0
