ELVIS COSTELLO sounds better than ever on THE BOY NAMED IF

ELVIS COSTELLO & THE IMPOSTERS

The Boy Named If (EMI)

Elvis Costello has never sounded better than he does on new album The Boy Named If. Decades of honing his songcraft with The Attractions, 60s songsmith Burt Bacharach and wife Diana Krall have sharpened Costello’s sleek stylings to an irresistible peak of excellence. Album openers Farewell, OK and the title track are supposedly saying sweet goodbyes to the freedoms of youth – ‘If’ being a shorthand for an imaginary best friend – yet they couldn’t sound more immediate and urgent if they tried.

Elsewhere on The Boy Named If, beautiful ballad Paint The Red Rose Blue harkens back to one of Costello’s rare cover version hits, Good Year For The Roses, with a wistfulness that suits the 67-year-old. The Attractions that backed Costello’s many classic albums are still rocking behind their uncompromising leader, having been renamed The Imposters some 20 years ago. The comfortable shifts in style that reflect Costello’s varied career are welcome and do nothing to undermine that this is a new album to be played as loud and proud as last year’s unusual Spanish Model or 1977’s My Aim Is True.

words JOHN-PAUL DAVIES