The dozen or so albums Elvis Costello has released in the new millennium have run the gamut from work for symphony orchestras and jazz pianos to hard-edged country, alternative folk and a pop-funk collaboration with The Roots.

But the best of them may well be 2008’s Momofuku, the most conventional of the bunch.

Eschewing the high-concept themes of Costello’s other recent work, Momofuku was bashed out over a few weeks and released with little fanfare. And it’s exactly what the doctor ordered.

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