As the COVID crisis began, Elvis Costello headed from touring the UK to Helsinki, of all places, to record, by himself, a couple of solo songs. Then to Paris to meet up with a horn heavy combo including Steve Nieve and AJUQ (tinyurl.com/zubimmobile), to record the bulk of the Hey Clockface Tracks. He finished more new tracks off in New York with a combo featuring Bill Frisell. The tracks were fast and loose. Although I believe Elvis has, in The Imposters, probably the best rock band in the world, It is refreshing to hear him collaborate in new alignments. Some of his best work has been done with Allen Toussaint, Burt Bacharach, and especially The Roots on Wise Up Ghost.  

The fourteen songs on Hey Clockface are quite remarkable, opening with the majestic ‘Revolution #49,’ which starts with a very Middle Eastern horn, reminiscent of a call to prayer, transported to some kind of Lawrence Of Arabia scene. It’s a spoken word tale about hanging on to love. Strange, glorious, and regal sounding. ‘No Flag’ is one of the solo Helsinki tracks, A noisy, electronic track with distorted guitars and an insistent bass that sounds like it could be on When I Was Cruel. Elvis intones about the dissolution of self and beliefs: 

I could write you verses and recite more than one 

But they're not worth the paper that they're written on 

It’s quite a jolt after the intro song. 

‘They’re Not Laughing At Me Now’ is a tender, sad acoustic tune with jazzy horns and an odd organ sound.  Piano and drums crash in the middle to great effect. This is a classic post KIng Of America Costello tune, reminding me somehow of ‘Indoor Fireworks.’ Opening with a distorted baritone guitar, ‘Newspaper Pane’ is a word packed gem, another twisted tale of love: 

They were all cut down in a cavalry charge 

Weeping, Miss Imogen said to her priest 

"I gave him my virtue 

It was the least I could leave him 

On the eve of departure 

Though I will long for him now and hereafter 

And the child I'll be raising may have his blue eyes 

What if he grows up and dies 

On some distant unnamable hillside or field 

Because a king and a concubine put a mark on his shield 

  

With the beatbox drums and the 60’s organ sound, the tune could almost be a throwback to the This Years Model era, but the horns and Costello’s amazing vocal delivery give it more of a Look Now treatment. 

‘I Do (Zula’s Song)’ is a  dreamy, classical-tinged tune, with  piano, horns, upright bass and a straight rip from ‘Toreador Song’ from Carmen by Bizet. We see what you did there, Elvis. He’s in full crooner mode, and sounding fantastic. This one is a stunner. 

The lyric for ‘We Are All Cowards Now:’ 

They're coming for our Peacemakers 

Our Winchesters and Colts 

The rattle of our Gatling Guns 

Our best cowboy revolts and threats and insults 

We are all cowards now 

  

Obviously a fierce anti-gun screed. This one has Elvis back in his R&B mode with a very strange chorused vocal part. Lyrically amazing but the tune is only average for this year’s master. 

 

 

 

‘Hey Clockface/How Can you Face Me?,’ Is a song we heard on the last tour and found it very interesting. This take is straight 30’s jazz, rollicking piano, clarinet, spoons...very old timey. It sounds like a classic jazz side from that era, not easy to do. To drive the point home, they break into a snippet of Fats Waller’s ‘How Can You Face Me Now’ from 1934. The whole thing is quite joyous, and no one can pull off this musical shape shifting better than Elvis. ‘The Whirlwind’ is a beautiful tune and melody, again written from the point of view of a disappointed young woman. Elvis provides a tour de force on the vocals, and the piano is stately and amazing. There’s a whiff of Painted From Memory on this one. Again, Elvis hits it out of the park.  

With ‘Hetty O’Hara Confidential’ we get another beatbox electronic tune, with the cheesy organ, lyrics jam-packed about an old-fashioned gossip columnist: 

Who's got your girlfriend? 

And who had her first? 

Reading her column was essential 

Hetty O'Hara Confidential 

She could kill a man with a single stroke 

She is not the one you want to provoke 

If you can't take the heat 

Or you can't take a joke 

  

This one is a rollicking good ride. Elvis is almost rapping at points, and he does it well. ‘The Last Confession Of Vivian Whip’ is another piano driven ballad about a lonely woman. Elvis croons admirably and the backing is almost Brodsky-like, It’s a pretty and sad song, but I’m afraid it doesn’t quite match up to ‘The Whirlwind.’ 

‘What Is It I Need That I Don't Already Have?’ starts with somber, acoustic strumming that gives away to horns and strings. In waltz time, a man looks back on the material things that hold him back. 

What is it that I lost that I don't really need 

Some glasses for my eyes 

And an hour or two of speed 

My hands don't blister, my hands don't bleed 

But I'll never be contented, repent or ever be lamented 

'Til I'm planted down like rotten crops 

And covered up with weeds 

  

This is a sad song and a very mature topic. Elvis is obviously looking back and, whether writing in character or not, his years are slipping through. ‘Radio Is Everything’ is basically a spoken word piece without the regal backing of ‘Revolution #49.’ He rails against hate on the radio: 

You don't need to see my face 

Radio is everything 

You don't need to know my name 

Radio is everything 

The lie that I tell 

It just doesn't matter 

If I should deceive you 

Or if I should flatter 

If your bankroll gets thin while some kitty gets fatter 

Radio is everything 

From the straight to the narrow to the broadcast from within 

Radio is everything 

Radio is everything 

  

It’s quite remarkable and stands up to repeated listening. 

‘I Can’t Say Her Name’ is another acoustic tune that sounds like it could be home on National Ransom, it has that 30’s jazz vibe. Trumpets and barrelhouse piano join in. Like ‘Hey Clockface,’ it’s a joyous song not even ruined by Elvis’ take on scat singing. It makes me smile. 

‘Byline’ is a story of broken lovers, this is a piano-driven ballad with a strange chorus part. It’s short, sad, pretty, and to the point. Another winner and Hey Clockface goes out on top. 

This is Costello’s thirty-first record. This amazing artist, after all this time, continues to innovate and impress. The themes show Elvis to still be angry at times, just presenting his arguments with a much more, ahem, ‘mature’ delivery. He’s considered a new style, writing from the female perspective, as on Look Now. He continued to pursue old time jazz tropes, that began with National Ransom, and continues to improve on that theme. He’s also not afraid to cross into noisy electronica, a la When I Was Cruel. His singing and lyrics are always nonpareil, and the new collaborators are truly astonishing. He continues to experiment, invent, adopt, and adapt. Here’s to more to come! 

----Steve McGowan  

  

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