Elbow — Leaders Of The Free World

Elbow's first two albums established them as a unique product of the Manchester scene, a group that could be sad without being sappy and powerful without being pretentious. Those qualities are on full display again with Leaders Of The Free World, a record flush with urgent emotion and musical dexterity. Guy Garvey's voice is as plaintive as ever, but his self-deprecating wit crackles through even the most insecure sentiments ("Your sweet reassurances don't change the fact/That he's better looking than me" he sings on the stellar "Mexican Standoff"). Meanwhile, Garvey's bandmates deftly move from epic numbers like the title track — the album's sprawling centrepiece — to intimate ballads such as "My Very Best." It can't be much longer before Elbow get their just due amongst their Brit-pop peers.