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October 04, 2005
elbow :: leaders of the free world
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Elbow's brilliant A Cast of Thousands is a tough act to follow, especially in this space, where it was Borrowed Tunes' #3 record of 2004. Leaders of the Free World doesn't quite measure up, but after the disappointment wears off it presents itself as a very fine album by a band that I think is unjustly overlooked in the U.S. For example, the Doves seem to be far more successful, and I would think that Elbow would appeal to the exact same crowd.
It's common that bands follow up grand, sweeping records like Thousands with more intimate statements, and often the smaller record feels less signifcant by comparison. Leaders of the Free World is soaked in lovelorn anomie, and finds Guy Garvey pleading with the very city he inhabits to help shake him out of it. He's soused, stumbling, "shifting from foot to foot", and "ticking off the days" until he dies. This isn't a breakup album; it's a please-come-back album, and those kind are almost harder to take.
As such, the writer's aimlessness can seep into the songs, and the album barely emergies from a mist until you stare at it long enough to make it out. Its most wonderful songs come at the very end (excepting the short coda), in a run of three that pull the whole work up by its bootstraps and give it the chin-up sign with soaring melodies
This album seems to have won a bit more broad praise than A Cast of Thousands - Stylus Magazine gave it an A - and I'm beginning to understand why. I'm sure there are a few heartbroken souls who are hanging on Guy Garvey's every word.
My Very Best (mp3)
The Everthere (mp3)
Posted by borrowed_tunes at October 4, 2005 09:44 PM