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Elvis Costello & The Imposters - The Boy Named If
[Power Pop | Pop Rock]
RaduP
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It wasn't that long ago that I reviewed another Elvis Costello record. The proficiency has been Elvis' modus operandi ever since he started making music. Sometimes you get multiple albums a year, sometimes you get a five year break. In the writeups for the last album I urged readers to listen to This Year's Model before even thinking of jumping in. That was because Hey Clockface should really not be someone's first Elvis Costello album. I still urge you to listen to This Year's Model, but The Boy Named If isn't as bad of a first taste.
I wouldn't really call The Boy Named If a fantastic album and I'm not sure how time will treat its place among late-era Costello albums. But it's an album that showcases the qualities of late-era Costello much better, and late-era Costello is a pretty great place for music too, even if it's not as vital as the 70s/80s stuff. It sounds pleasant in its mellow ballads and it sounds pleasant in its rocking moments, and there's no part of the album that isn't decent at worst, which is more than I can say about the past couple of albums. What can I say? All of it sounds good. Time has treated Elvis Costello pretty well, with his gruffy vocals being a perfect fit for the music, and his songwriting abilities still not feeling like they ran their course. This definitely sounds like the same artist that made My Aim Is True, and not in a "rehashing sounds past" way.
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