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10.0
128011
10.0 |
Record Collector
Sublimely crafted, incredibly well-played, there are all the reference points, yet it never sounds like a composite of old glories. The intelligence, urgency and immediacy of his 32nd album are a most welcome surprise
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8.0
128012
8.0 |
Mojo
The most energised performance Costello has committed to record in a long time and - despite his protestations that The Imposters are an entirely different band - his most classic Attractions-like album since 1994's Brutal Youth. Print edition only
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8.0
128014
8.0 |
The Arts Desk
Elvis inhabits a world of smoke and mirrors, in which relationships feature conflict as well as resolution, attraction as well as betrayal
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8.0
128017
8.0 |
American Songwriter
Costello is right back where he belongs and the rewards are that much better as a result
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8.0
127984
8.0 |
musicOMH
For those who thought that age may have dimmed the fire that’s always been Costello’s trademark, A Boy Named If is proof positive that the opposite is true
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8.0
127990
8.0 |
Slant Magazine
At its best, Elvis Costello’s The Boy Named If rivals the fractious energy and melodic verve of the singer’s classic period
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8.0
128008
8.0 |
The Irish Times
The man’s voice remains an acquired taste, and he can occasionally be as prickly as a roll of barbed wire, but his persistent nature has proven him to be, pretty much, the most explorative of the class of 1977
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8.0
128009
8.0 |
The FT
The new album is a sharp and driven return to the attacking style of earlier days
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7.8
127995
7.8 |
Paste Magazine
With The Boy Named If, Costello and The Imposters show they are still capable of kicking each other under the table at the restaurant, showing their fangs to the manager when they’ve been told to leave
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7.5
128038
7.5 |
Spectrum Culture
Costello writes with storyteller's sensibility and a rocker's attitude, and with the Imposters willing to indulge a little id, The Boy Named If becomes as rousing a coming-of-age album as you could ask for
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7.5
128053
7.5 |
Pitchfork
On his 32nd studio album, Elvis Costello treats the traditional rock quartet as the ideal medium for delicacy, concision, wit, and the occasional harangue
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7.0
128072
7.0 |
Under The Radar
This is yet another strong album in a career full of them and while he doesn’t reinvent the wheel or break much new ground here, any chance to hear the master play the style he’s so good at is not to be missed
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