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King of America is an album born out of retreat and reset, following a period when Costello himself felt he’d lost the thread. It feels like an artist stripping everything back to find out what still matters. Even the name “Elvis Costello” barely appears: the songs are credited to Declan MacManus, the band is listed as The Costello Show, and the whole presentation suggests a deliberate act of distance from the persona he’d built over the previous decade. Musically, he moved away from the tightly wound punch of the Attractions and into a looser, roots-based sound, guided by producer T Bone Burnett. The players were veterans whose résumés stretched back through rock, jazz, country and early rhythm and blues, giving the album a sense of history and weight without ever sounding nostalgic for its own sake.

Featured songs:

I'll Wear It Proudly
Our Little Angel
Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood
Indoor Fireworks
Jack Of All Parades
American Without Tears