He may have begun his recording career in 1977 as the odd one out of the punk rock movement, but in the intervening years Elvis Costello has travelled further afield creatively than any of his contemporaries.
On this latest studio album, he continues to wilfully avoid categorisation, with languorous ballads ("The Last Confession of Vivian Whip," "The Whirlwind," "Byline"), irksome trad jazz (the title track), jagged rock (Hetty O'Hara Confidential) and offbeat spoken word ("Radio Is Everything," "Revolution #49") swirling around in the melting pot. The result is typically eclectic but, alas, too often underwhelming.
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