Elvis Costello & The Impostors, Look Now

Elvis Costello & The Imposters, Look Now

Elvis Costello emerged first as a frenetic, punk-adjacent provocateur and then morphed into a polished pop songwriter and balladeer in the within a decade.Look Now is of the latter persuasion, as Costello and his collaborators arrange most of these songs in the style of 60s and 70s pop/rock with lots of pianos, back-up singers, and a fair bit of brass. There’s a strong vocal jazz element and a bit of Broadway too. Costello’s been writing a musical with Burt Bacharach, and that shows in the lyrics as well as the music, as he’s clearly grown to love writing in character. (A number of the narrative voices on these songs are expressly female, and it works). Some of us may be inclined to long for the younger, rawer Elvis Costello on principle, but there’s no denying his pop songcraft. Highlights: “Unwanted Number,” “He’s Given Me Things,” “Under Lime”

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Richard Thompson, 13 Rivers

Richard Thompson , 13 Rivers Richard Thompson — 13 Rivers Arguably the most consistently engaging artist of the last 50 years, Richard Thompson continues to write deep, dark folk-rock songs with an acerbic wit married to a soft, calm wisdom. This new album isn’t widely divergent from his established catalogue but miraculously Thompson, who was already a guitar hero in the 1970s, still manages to grow as a guitarist and sound fresh. Working highly intricate riffs into the undergirding of each song’s frame, he also solos on every song and as usual, his virtuosity remains connected to the music, always moving the songs forward rather than grandstanding. Plus, Thompson’s one of a kind voice only deepens in resonance over time. Highlights: “Trying,” “O Cinderella,” “Bones of Gilead”

Jacob Banks, Village

Jacob Banks , Village With the British, Nigerian-born future soul singer’s full-length debut, Jason Banks discovers the point at which today’s forward-thinking alternative R&B comes full circle and connect with classic R&B. Banks’s arrangements are contemporary, much of his instrumentation electronic and advanced, and he makes relevant enough cultural references to blend in with the hip hop set. his voice, though, recalls the soul men of yore, with a mighty, stirring baritone of which he is in full command. His voice rings out with power and sensitivity in equal measure. Banks brings some fusion from outside R&B world too, with traces of reggae and African sounds. This one’s worth checking out even if you don’t think you like soul or R&B. Highlights: “Kumbaya,” “Caroline,” “Unknown (To You)”

Vince Staples, FM!

Vince Staples , FM! The Long Beach rapper follows last year’s star-studded, experimental and genre-warping Big Fish Theory with more streamlined hip hop record. With only eight short songs, Staples’s approach is simple, straight and to the point, and packs an awful lot into his breathless 22 minutes. The framing sequence of radio show DJ interludes fills the record out, and it does feature a variety of guest cameos — but this time around, they’re all from the worlds of rap and R&B. The beats are highly varied in style, though mostly uptempo and staccato. Lyrically Staples focuses on a blend of black pride, commentary on the disenfranchised life in America, summertime hangouts, and also plenty of tried-and-true rap self-praise. Highlights: “Outside!,” “Run The Bands,” “FUN!”

Album Reviews by Stefan Wenger

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