I've noticed that he has a tendency to sing that way in recent performances of his older material. My gut instinct is that he's sick of these songs and he's trying to keep them fresh, at least for himself if not everyone else. But, then, he also did the same thing with a few Look Now tracks when I saw him in 2018, so who knows?
For me, right album but different track…the moment it starts, I think: “I’m the Town Cry—“ Er. But I do like the sound of it.
A friend of mine and fellow EC fan really liked this one... I like the toe-tapping tempo, the swirling offbeat sound of it all, and the first bridge.
Noticed him doing this on Pump It Up and Big Tears for sure during the show I saw in November 2021. Big Tears was especially jarring, didn’t mind it so much on Pump It Up, but he definitely seems to be doing it on the same songs so I assume it to be intentional for sure.
A nice lyric and melody. I'm not that fond of when things seem to get expressed almost too 'preciously' and the song isn't just vocalized a little more naturally or with a little less 'drama'? I heard more Boy With A Problem or Kid About It for the bridge...in this song it seemed to me a bit of an awkward or long transition, on a first listen. The recurring chorus line is a winner and the song asks for or suggests more listens, from me fwiw. Reminds me some of his My Three Sons song which I quite like. Fwiw I don't care for this one as much, on second listen. Tempo seems drawn out too much and bridge too long, for my taste.
Like this one. Bouncy, edgy, with a sense of whimsy. Less than 48 hours till release day. Goodbye, so long...
Absolutely freaking killer. Best EC album opener since "Uncomplicated." The album as a whole is equal parts Brutal Youth, Blood & Chocolate and Look Now. The kind of album he hasn't made in a long while.
Agreed, and he sounded really energized playing it live on this last tour as well. Good to see and hear!
I don't know if this has been noted yet, but as usual with EC, the Japanese CD has a bonus track ("Truth Drug")
I have made this mistake so many times with various artists (and especially Costello, Eno & Low) that I have learned never to pull the trigger until I know for sure what's happening in Japan!
If the past 20+ years is any indication I'm gonna assume it's ear-bleedingly loud and compressed. I love Elvis, but hate whoever masters his discs (though I assume the direction to do so comes from E himself).
I would love to get the book with cd but for now will have to settle just for a cd. Maybe get the vinyl down the road at a more friendly price if I really like the new album. Perhaps there is a download that includes the track on the cd from Japan?
Nick actually says (in the Wilderness Years notes) that this was a crap song. I always disagreed, and I guess Elvis did too.
As I recall, the Japanese bonus track from the last album turned up as a digital b-side on iTunes in other parts of the world.
Heard this today and it’s great. For fans of a more rock oriented EC. I definitely prefer it to his last two records, although I do have an affinity for Hey Clockface. He’s been on quite a roll these last few years!
Heard this twice to be sure but **** this is a really good album. Really, really good, like best since (and likely on par with) Blood & Chocolate. Even When I Was Cruel had some duff tracks weighing it down but not here. It looks like more press are paying attention to this than Hey Clockface too. Even Jon Pareles of the NY Times wrote a full review praising this: Elvis Costello & the Imposters Are Still Blasting Away In retrospect, Hey Clockface was a good step in the right direction - a couple of bum tracks, but the rocking tracks were excellent and the slow ones fairly good for what they were. I thought it worked well if you took out the two worst cuts which left it as one side of mainly rock and one side of mainly ballads, but all of the new album is mainly rock of even higher caliber.
T This is easily addressed - although not completely solved - in the era of AI demixing software - 1) Google X-minus and use it to download a split of each track into vocals and backing track 2) load each set of tracks into audacity 3) cut the instrumental track by 10; cut the vocals by 3 4) extract the new track The instruments remain compressed, but the vocals are higher relative to the instruments and so melody now outweighs rhythm/drums. Sorry Pete, but you are back at your "Blood and Chocolate" level now;-) If you do this, it sounds very much like 1978-1986 Elvis...
I preordered the indie purple vinyl from Bull Moose. I've just noticed that while the black vinyl is out tomorrow, the indie version isn't out till Feb 4! Wonder why. Oh well.
Yeah, I preordered the purple from Bull Moose as well and was deflated when I realized I wouldn’t get my hands on it until next month! I don’t think this was the case when I first placed my order so I suspect it’s due to supply chain issues/vinyl manufacturing delays. I guess Tidal will suffice until the 4th…
