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Now 67, our favourite bolshy Londoner has returned to his 70s roots with his punchiest album since 1978's This Year's Model.
The Boy Named If is an invigorating mix of fierce melodies, sharp lyrics and New Wave energy with its feet in pub rock and feisty 60s pop. You could imagine The Beatles belting out Farewell, OK in their sweat-soaked early days in Hamburg clubs.
He's charting a betrayal - 'A fumble for heaven in a thimble of draft' - and it's glorious. The album's loose theme is growing up, a much longer process than it used to be. Highlights include Penelope Halfpenny, vintage Costello pop underpinned by Steve Nieve's swirling organ. It has a similar drive to Pump It Up but is more whimsical.
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