I recently mentioned in a post here that sometimes I don't give "freebies" enough of a chance to gain my affection. Not always, and not even consciously, but I know that I do this. When I buy something I'm much more likely to give it more listens. Nothing unusual with that, except there are exceptions of course. Some of my recent favorites came to me as free demos and turned out to be real growers, not especially memorable on the first couple listens, but still with some unique quality that drew me back. But how many discs sit stagnant in the piles or racks that just might be one listen away from that same realization? Who knows.

Funny thing, I haven't been reading many music reviews lately so havent been checking into many of my old haunts, but I did make some of the rounds yesterday because I wanted to read what people were saying about the new Elbow album since I haven't seen any talk of it on the couple boards I frequent, and there was a review of it a couple days ago at Stylus that rang very true with the reviewer talking about this very thing. Especially when he says, "..., and sure enough after half a dozen listens I couldn't explain to you why I didn't used to love all of these songs." I remember that first Elbow was quite a grower too, with something soulful that kept drawing me back for more. But it also had some real standout songs so it's not as good an example as possibly the new one. Anyway, curious to hear some of your thoughts on the grower "problem". How long do wait for the magic to come out? Can you tell right away when an album just isn't gonna work for you? And what do you think of Elbow? I didn't buy the last one, but sure like that first one. Been thinking seriously of picking this new one up.
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As with the excellent Cast Of Thousands album, Leaders Of The Free World feels disjointed at first, almost ramshackle. If anything, it's more initially disappointing, with only "Station Approach" and "Leaders Of The Free World" really grabbing me the first time. I confess to having an affection for "growers" that dates back to my teen years, but the basic reason for that affection remains: When you trust music to repay your devotion and it does, it can feel better than a thousand instant thrills. It was the feeling running through Leaders Of The Free World that kept me listening for more, and sure enough after half a dozen listens I couldn't explain to you why I didn't used to love all of these songs. Like most of the albums I've really loved in the past decade or so, it's the way this music so precisely and so ineffably articulates my emotions that make me want to keep listening.

http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=3363