I admit I'm a late convert to Elbow, being transfixed one night in my car hearing One Day Like This for the first time, and being completely hooked as a result. They have single-handedly reaffirmed my faith in good pop songwriting and the virtues of the long haul. They're a band who never gave up, and who worked tirelessly to make it happen. This album is a triumphant blast of hooks, atmosphere and some of the finest lyrics of the last ten years. Who else could start an album with the lines: 'How dare the premier ignore my invitation? He'll have to go... So too the bunch he luncheons with, that's second on my list of Things to Do. At the top is stopping by your place of work, and acting like I haven't dreamed of you and I and marriage in an orange grove.' I love them from the brain and the heart.