Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Armed Forces [Bonus 7-inch]

Elvis Costello & The Attractions hit a pop peak with Armed Forces, wrapping some of his most biting lyrics in the brightest melodies of his early career.

Released in 1979 and produced by Nick Lowe, the album followed This Year's Model and carried a working title, Emotional Fascism, that tells you plenty about where Costello's head was at. The Attractions are in full widescreen mode, with Steve Nieve's keyboards taking a starring role, and the songs pick at politics, militarism and the power games inside relationships with the speed and snap of new wave at its sharpest.

"Oliver's Army" is the big one, a jaunty, ABBA-inspired piano romp that hides a scathing look at young men sent off to fight. "Accidents Will Happen" opens the album with aching, chiming grace, while "Green Shirt" simmers with paranoid tension and "Party Girl" offers a rare moment of swooning romance.

Pressed here as a two-disc set, the songs still crackle with nervous energy more than four decades on, with bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas driving the rhythm section hard throughout.

Armed Forces remains a high-water mark for one of the great songwriters of his generation, catchy enough to hum and sharp enough to sting.