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So much has been written about Elvis Costello that it's almost impossible to believe that the man can be as good as he's made out to be. But judging by his latest album, he's not far short of it.
Neither true new wave nor conventional pop, the dozen songs on Armed Forces defy categorisation. The current hit single, "Oliver's Army" is fairly representative of the album, successfully mixing a singalong pop melody with a lyrical and musical depth that stands up to frequent hearings.
Other tracks on the album, like "Accidents Will Happen", "Green Shirt" and "Moods For Moderns," have this same immediacy about them.
Elvis Costello seems to have the knack of matching intriguing lyrics to well constructed musical arrangements without deadening the impact of his strong melody lines. Writing songs of this calibre he should be around for a long time yet.
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