Hey everybody, this is Kyle from Track by
Track, and today we've got good news and bad
news for Elvis Costello fans. The good news
is this rock and roll icon has just released
"We Are All Cowards Now," the next single
from his Finland recording sessions. The bad
news is he's described it as quote "the third
and final bulletin from The Helsinki Sound."
With the previous two singles in this series,
Costello teased further installments were
forthcoming, and we hoped, or at least I hoped,
this might all be leading up to a full album.
In fact, knowing the third mystery song was
scheduled for this week, I even wondered if
it might be accompanied by an album announcement,
or better yet a surprise full album drop.
But if this new track is indeed the final
bulletin, I think it is safe to assume the
Helsinki Sound has taken on its final form
as a musical trilogy. But you know what? That's
okay. There's such a unique sound to this
music, such a unique vibe, that I have to
admit I was a little skeptical about how it
might work spread out across a full album
song cycle. Now with the final chapter in
place, "We Are All Cowards Now" does a great
job drawing the story to its conclusion. Once
again, there's an edgy noisiness to the music
that feels almost percussive, supplementing
what is actually a fairly sparse drum track.
If anything, the rhythms in this song are
the most conventional of the trilogy, which
I'll admit is a little bit of a letdown. "We
Are All Cowards Now" is definitely the least
musically adventurous track in the trilogy,
although still distinctly in the realm of
the Helsinki Sound. There's plenty of distorted
guitars here, but it is clearly the piano
that's in charge. For the first half of the
song, the bassline is driven by the lower
octaves of the ivories, while discordant jazzy
notes drop in intervals to provide contrasting
highlights against the reverb drenched soundscape.
Once again, Costello plays all the instruments,
but you'd be forgiven if you assumed for a
moment it was his long time sideman Steve
Nieve on the keys. As you'd expect from Elvis
Costello, there's some terrific wordplay throughout
the lyrics. The contrast of "history" against
"his story" is a fun example. Speaking of
history, it's also clear he's drawing parallels
to the current political climate without being
in any way explicit about it. And like the
single "Hetty O'Hara Confidential" before
this, Costello continues to explore the darker
corners of human drives and desires. The vocal
on this track is much more restrained than
the other two chapters in this trilogy, verging
on a whisper sometimes. There's a cracking
in his voice, an almost hoarseness that I
can't tell if it's intentional or if maybe
the strain from singing "No Flag" during these
sessions may have left his vocals more raw
here. That's not necessarily a criticism.
I think it works, but the effect still sounds
like it could have been painful. But as I
said, I'm actually really happy with the Helsinki
Sound trilogy or EP or whatever you want to
call it. It's a terrifically cohesive set
of songs, both musically and thematically,
and it's quite possible we might have grown
weary of this dark underworld if he'd continued
to explore it at album length. I've seen some
fans responses to these new songs being less
than positive, not so entertained. And that's
fair. This music is a significant departure
from what we last heard from Costello on the
fantastic "Look Now" album. But if you're
a longtime fan, you know the man never stands
still creatively. "We Are All Cowards Now"
marks the end of the Helsinki Sound. I can't
wait to hear what sound Elvis Costello explores
next. Once again, my name's Kyle and this
has been Track by Track. If you liked this
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they come out. Thanks for watching, and I'll
see you next time!
