It's almost as if Elbow didn't want you to hear their music at times.

So hushed and tentative is the sound the Manchester band create, it's as if they feel embarrassed to raise anything more than a whisper.

But this is quite an endearing quality and most of the slow, ponderous songs on this their second album are mini-masterpieces of understated melody and sombre reflection.

However, it's almost too much to bear at times and in the same sort of way you might tell Radiohead to just cheer up, so you might Elbow.

That aside, the band create a lush and beautiful musical landscape full of choral voicings and distant piano which is inescapable.

Most significant among the many highlights perhaps is the heart-rending Switching Off which encapsulates the spirit of Elbow's atmospherically charged music in five wonderful minutes.

Cast of Thousands is a strong and original album and on the basis of it, Elbow are a band to look out for in the future.

JS