Hey Clockface

AlbumOct 30 / 202014 songs, 49m 58s
Singer-Songwriter Art Rock
Popular

Whether he\'s writing rock music, soul, country, classical, or any of his other myriad stylistic departures, Elvis Costello’s albums have always felt rigorous and focused. On *Hey Clockface*, his 31st album, he focuses on the loss of focus; these knotty songs express the unexpurgated thoughts of a man living through a pandemic of faith. Unsteadiness suffuses the lyrics and the music, which veers from rattling guitar rock to spoken-word pieces to a giddy offshoot of ragtime jazz. “At least the Emperor Nero had an ear for music,” Costello sings witheringly on “We Are All Cowards Now,” which compares our political leaders unfavorably to the man who fiddled while Rome burned. No songwriter has ever had a more enduring gift for jaundiced critiques of how power and lust twist our lives, and *Hey Clockface* lingers over virtuosic internal rhymes and disturbing images of modern vanity (“Freedom to be reckless/Freedom to plunder,” he sings on “Newspaper Pane”) without offering the satisfaction of catharsis. Like all clear-eyed realists, Costello isn’t here to offer false hope or restorative tonics.

8

7.5 / 10

Alternating between loud, sumptuously produced rock and softer, Tin Pan Alley-inspired songs, the British singer-songwriter delivers a brooding set of songs about time’s ceaseless march.

7 / 10

Elvis Costello reinstates the exhilaration of journeying into the unexpected with Hey Clockface

Bring Me the Horizon get heavy on their apocalyptic new record, Elvis Costello wheels out his cast of typically eccentric characters for ‘Hey Clockface’, and Eels sticking to the same old formula makes for a surprisingly comforting listen

Hey Clockface arrived quickly on the heels of Look Now, but where that 2018 album seemed constructed as classicist Elvis Costello, drawing upon his strengths as a melodicist and the muscle of his regular backing band the Imposters, this 2020 affair feels as if it was designed to surprise.

7.5 / 10

Following Elvis Costello’s 2018 album "Look Now" (recorded with his long-time backing band The Imposters), this new affair is a very different beast.

The master craftsman mixes styles and moods to often brilliant effect

7 / 10

When Elvis Costello crashed into the consciousness of rock fans in 1977 with his debut album, My Aim Is True, he seemed like the bastard son of Buddy Holly...

65 %

Album Reviews: Elvis Costello - Hey Clockface

Having just recovered from cancer, Costello is on top fighting form. His new album is as colourful as it is spirited

It is hard to imagine this uneven collection of songs striking a chord beyond core fan base

Good songs, poor intonation. Album review by Liz Thomson

8 / 10