Brutal Youth

Inevitably, this album was hailed as a “back to basics” effort for Elvis Costello — a reunion with the Attractions and a return to something like meat-and-potatoes postpunk rock’n’roll after his various genre experiments and wide-ranging collaborations. And there’s some truth to that characterization (though it irritated Costello himself). What matters, though, is the songs, and they’re consistently exceptional: “13 Steps Lead Down” is an adrenalin-soaked howl, “Still Too Soon to Know” is a classic Costello neo-torch song, and “Clown Strike” contributes one of the best couplets in pop music history: “There was a clown strike/And the clowns threw down their tools.” And the Attractions themselves sound better than ever.