Given albums like My Aim Is True, it's easy to think of Elvis Costello as a New Wave lifer. But focus too narrowly on his skinny-tie years and you'll miss the curveballs that make his catalog so dynamic—like the Burt Bacharach collaboration "In the Darkest Place," or "Walk Us Uptown," an Afrobeat-inspired outing with The Roots. With The Brodsky Quartet, he even offers stark, brooding chamber pop.