NEW YORK — Elvis Costello and his band, the Imposters, were nearing the end of a rousing, rocking set last month at a Manhattan club when the audience's attention began to wander.
As he started his final encore, the chilling tale of a jilted sociopath, "I Want You," loud conversations and laughter could be heard from the Bowery Ballroom bar.
Costello didn't say anything, or even look annoyed. Instead, a malice-filled reading of the song did the work for him. The music quieted to a whisperlike level as Costello stepped away from the microphone to shout the line, "Did you call my name out as he held you down?" All talking ceased.
In a similar way, Costello is catching the ears of rock 'n' roll fans who may have lost patience with him after several years away from their world.
His new album, When I Was Cruel, is filled with bristling melodies, shards of distorted guitar and booming rhythms — along with the lyrical twists his fans are accustomed to. It has drawn some of his strongest reviews in years, and his best showing on the U.S. charts since 1980.
For followers who remember the dense, furious sound of Costello and his former band, the Attractions, it's heaven.
Costello is suspicious of such sentiment. His motives are simple: after years in which he composed and sang orchestral pop with Burt Bacharach, collaborated with classical singer Anne Sofie von Otter and toured extensively accompanied only by keyboard player Steve Nieve, he wanted to pump up the volume.
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