Hey Clockface

Hey Clockface is the 31st studio album by English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, released on 30 October 2020 by Concord Records.^[2][3]

Hey Clockface
Studio album by Elvis Costello
Released	30 October 2020
Recorded	2019–February 2020
Studio	Suomenlinnan Studio, Helsinki; Les Studios Saint Germain, Paris; Leonia Sound, New Jersey
Genre	Pop rock[1]
Length	49:52
Label	Concord
Producer	Elvis Costello Sebastian Krys Michael Leonhart
Elvis Costello chronology
Look Now (2018) Hey Clockface (2020) The Boy Named If (2022)

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	78/100[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
The Independent	[6]
musicOMH	[7]
The Observer	[8]
Pitchfork	7.5/10[1]
The Telegraph	[9]

Hey Clockface received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 78, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 9 reviews.^[4]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave Hey Clockface a positive 4-star review, stating that the record shows "Costello's mastery of mood and storytelling".^[5] Writing for Pitchfork, Daniel Felsenthal noted that Hey Clockface merges the "potentially divergent sensibilities" of "driving, ageless rock" and "conventions of the American songbook" into "an adventurous set of songs about time's ceaseless march....Alone, either style might have seemed like predictable genre play for Costello at this stage in his career, but together, they make for an album that's energetic and consistently surprising."^[10]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Revolution #49"		2:41
2.	"No Flag"		3:56
3.	"They're Not Laughing at Me Now"		4:26
4.	"Newspaper Pane"	Costello Michael Leonhart Bill Frisell	4:10
5.	"I Do (Zula's Song)"		3:49
6.	"We Are All Cowards Now"		3:36
7.	"Hey Clockface / How Can You Face Me?"	Costello Fats Waller Andy Razaf	2:56
8.	"The Whirlwind"		3:17
9.	"Hetty O'Hara Confidential"		4:14
10.	"The Last Confession of Vivian Whip"	Costello Steve Nieve Muriel Téodori	2:59
11.	"What Is It That I Need That I Don't Already Have?"		3:46
12.	"Radio Is Everything"	Costello Leonhart Frisell Nels Cline	4:25
13.	"I Can't Say Her Name"		2:57
14.	"Byline"		2:40
Total length:			49:52

All tracks are written by Elvis Costello, except where noted.

Japanese edition (bonus track)^[11]

No.	Title	Length
15.	"Phonographic Memory"	4:05
Total length:		54:04

Personnel

Helsinki recordings (tracks 2, 6, 9)

• Elvis Costello – all voices and instruments

Paris recordings (tracks 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14)

• Elvis Costello – voice, guitar, snare drum, bass, piano

Le Quintette Saint Germain:

• Steve Nieve – grand piano, upright piano, organ, mellotron, melodica
• Mickaël Gasche – trumpet, flugelhorn, serpent
• Renaud-Gabriel Pion – contrabass clarinet, bass clarinet, B♭ clarinet, tenor saxophone, bass flute, cor Anglais
• Pierre-François "Titi" Dufour – cello, foot stomps
• AJUQ – drums, percussion, harmonies

New York recordings (tracks 4 and 12)

• Elvis Costello – voice via electrical wire
• Michael Leonhart – trumpet, drums, guitar, synthesizer, bass, organ, trombone, piano, surdu
• Bill Frisell – guitar, loops
• Nels Cline – guitar
• Nick Movshon – drums
• Emily Hope-Price – cello
• Chris Bullock – alto flute
• Danton Boller – acoustic bass fill

Charts

Chart performance for Hey Clockface

Chart (2020)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[12]	174
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13]	21
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[14]	166
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15]	91
Scottish Albums (OCC)[16]	15
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[17]	88
UK Albums (OCC)[18]	39