Featuring three distinctive lead singers and five songwriters, the British quintet Gomez's unusually democratic approach to the creative process has made their music interesting and eclectic, even mysterious. How We Operate marks the first time Gomez has used an outside producer and veteran Gil Norton (Pixies, Foo Fighters, Counting Crows, among others) seems to have helped them focus their sound and ideas as never before, without messing with the things that make them a great band. They still retain their oddly beautiful, British perspective on Americana — backed by their use of acoustic instruments like mandolin, banjo, and fiddle — and their commitment to studio experimentation and sophisticated song arrangements. With good pop tunes that are just a bit off-center, in a good way (“Tear Your Love Apart,” “Hamoa Beach,” “Girlshapedlovedrug”), and some that get a bit farther out, like the dynamic “Chasing Ghosts With Alcohol” and the brilliant, metaphor-rich “Charley Patton Songs,” How We Operate splits the difference between experimentation and cohesion and hits the sweet spot nicely.