Editing This Year's Model

{{Short description|1978 studio album by Elvis Costello}}
{{For|the Imperials album|This Year's Model (Imperials album){{!}}''This Year's Model'' (Imperials album)}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox album
| name         = This Year's Model
| type         = studio
| artist       = [[Elvis Costello]]{{efn|The Attractions did not receive a sleeve credit on the original release but were credited on the LP labels.{{sfn|St. Michael|1986|loc=chap. 3}}<ref name="1978 liner notes" /> Later reissues are credited to Elvis Costello and the Attractions.<ref name="punknews.org" />}}
| cover        = Elvis-Costello-This-Years-Model.jpg
| border       = yes
| alt          = A young man wearing glasses and a suit-and-tie behind a camera on a tripod against a brown background
| caption      = Original UK cover.{{efn|The UK sleeve was [[printing registration|off-centre]] and featured a printer colour bar on the right.{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}} Later reissues feature a properly aligned sleeve.{{sfn|Hinton|1999|p=434}}}} The original US and Swedish covers use slightly different shots.
| released     = {{start date|1978|03|17|df=yes}}
| recorded     = December 1977 – January 1978
| studio       = [[Eden Studios (recording facility)|Eden]] (London)
| genre        = 
*[[New wave music|New wave]]
*[[power pop]]
*[[punk rock]]
*[[pop rock]]
* [[garage rock]]
| length       = {{duration|m=35|s=14}}
| label        = 
*[[Radar Records|Radar]]
*[[Columbia Records|Columbia]]
| producer     = [[Nick Lowe]]
| chronology   = [[Elvis Costello]]
| prev_title   = [[My Aim Is True]]
| prev_year    = 1977
| next_title   = [[Armed Forces (album)|Armed Forces]]
| next_year    = 1979
| misc         = {{Singles
 | name        = This Year's Model
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = [[(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea]]
 | single1date = 3 March 1978
 | single2     = [[Pump It Up (Elvis Costello song)|Pump It Up]]
 | single2date = June 1978
 | single3     = [[This Year's Girl (song)|This Year's Girl]]
 | single3date = 1978 (US)
}}
}}

'''''This Year's Model''''' is the second studio album by the English singer-songwriter [[Elvis Costello]], released on 17{{nbsp}}March 1978 through [[Radar Records]]. After being backed by [[Clover (band)|Clover]] for his debut album ''[[My Aim Is True]]'' (1977), Costello formed [[the Attractions]]—keyboardist [[Steve Nieve]], bassist [[Bruce Thomas (musician)|Bruce Thomas]] and drummer [[Pete Thomas (drummer)|Pete Thomas]] (no relation)—as his permanent backing band. Recording sessions took place at London's [[Eden Studios (recording facility)|Eden Studios]] in eleven days between late{{nbsp}}1977 and early{{nbsp}}1978. [[Nick Lowe]] returned as producer, and [[Roger Béchirian]] acted as [[Audio engineer|engineer]]. Most of the songs were written prior to the sessions, and debuted live during the latter half of 1977.

Embracing [[New wave music|new wave]], [[power pop]] and [[punk rock]], the songs draw from bands such as [[the Rolling Stones]] and [[the Beatles]]. The lyrics explore subjects such as technologies of mass control and failing relationships, but in a manner that some reviewers found [[Misogyny|misogynistic]]. Echoing the lyrics of some of the tracks, the cover artwork, designed by the English graphic artist [[Barney Bubbles]], shows Costello behind a camera on a tripod, emphasising his role as an observer.

The accompanying singles "[[(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea]]" and "[[Pump It Up (Elvis Costello song)|Pump It Up]]" were commercially successful and the album reached number four on the [[UK Albums Chart]]. The American LP was released in May{{nbsp}}1978 through [[Columbia Records]]. Substituting "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" and "Night Rally" for "[[Radio Radio]]", it reached number 30 on ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]''{{'s}} [[Billboard 200|Top LPs & Tape]] chart. ''This Year's Model'' also received critical acclaim; reviewers highlighted strong songwriting and performances, while also admiring Costello and the band as artists. The album appeared on year-end lists in both the UK and the US.

In later decades, ''This Year's Model'' has been acclaimed as one of Costello's best works, some critics commenting on its influence on punk and new wave. It has appeared on several lists of the greatest albums of all time and has been reissued multiple times with bonus tracks. In 2021, Costello spearheaded a new version of the album titled ''Spanish Model'', which featured songs from ''This Year's Model'' sung in Spanish by Latin artists over the Attractions' original backing tracks. It received favourable reviews and charted on several ''Billboard'' charts.

==Background==
[[Elvis Costello]] was backed on his debut album ''[[My Aim Is True]]'' (1977) by the California-based [[country rock]] act [[Clover (band)|Clover]],{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 2}} whose laid-back approach he felt did not fit the sound of the times. Wanting a harder and sharper sound, he decided to assemble a permanent backing band.{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 4}} The first musician hired was [[Pete Thomas (drummer)|Pete Thomas]], former drummer of [[Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers]]; the second hired was [[Bruce Thomas (musician)|Bruce Thomas]], a bassist whose previous involvements included several [[folk rock]] albums earlier in the decade;{{efn|Although they have the same surname, Pete and Bruce are unrelated.{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 4}}}} and last [[Steve Nieve]], who had no prior band experience and had trained at the [[Royal College of Music]].<ref name="2002 liner notes">{{cite AV media notes |last=Costello |first=Elvis |title=This Year's Model (reissue) |others=Elvis Costello |year=2002 |location=US |publisher=[[Rhino Entertainment]] |type=CD booklet |id=R2 78354}}</ref>{{sfn|Costello|2015|pp=231–239}}{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} With Costello on guitar, he and the band, now named [[the Attractions]], made their live debut on 14{{nbsp}}July 1977.{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 2}}{{sfn|Costello|2015|pp=237–242}} Shortly after the release of ''My Aim Is True'' eight days later,{{sfn|Hinton|1999|p=426}} the group performed an unauthorised show outside a [[Columbia Records]] convention, which led to Costello's arrest. The stunt attracted the attention of record executive Greg Geller, who months later became integral in signing Costello to Columbia in the United States.{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 2}}{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 4}}{{sfn|Costello|2015|pp=237–242}}

Costello and the band were on tour for most of the rest of 1977. The dates included the Greatest Stiffs Live Tour with other [[Stiff Records]] artists and their first tour of America.{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 4}}{{sfn|Clayton-Lea|1999|loc=chap. 2}} During this time, Stiff co-founder [[Jake Riviera]] departed Stiff due to disputes with the label's co-founder [[Dave Robinson (music executive)|Dave Robinson]]. Per Costello's management contract, Costello followed Riviera and left Stiff for [[Radar Records]] but retained his American deal with Columbia.{{efn|Lowe also left Stiff with Costello for Radar.{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 2}}{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 4}}}} His final release for Stiff was that October's "[[Watching the Detectives (song)|Watching the Detectives]]", his first single to reach the UK top 20. In the meantime, Costello had written a large amount of new material which would appear on ''This Year's Model''.{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 2}}{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 4}}{{sfn|Clayton-Lea|1999|loc=chap. 2}}

According to the author Graeme Thomson, Costello's reputation in the US grew faster than in the UK. He was acclaimed in publications such as ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' and ''[[Newsweek]]'' and approached to appear on [[NBC]]'s ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' as a last-minute replacement for the [[Sex Pistols]], which took place the day after the tour's end.{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 4}} During the appearance, Costello and the Attractions played "Watching the Detectives" and began "Less Than Zero" before Costello abruptly cut the band off and counted them into the then-unreleased "[[Radio Radio]]", a critique of the commercialisation of broadcasting. The impromptu stunt angered producer [[Lorne Michaels]] and resulted in Costello's banning from ''Saturday Night Live'' until 1989.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/elvis-costello-recalls-snl-performance-stunt-apple-music-interview-9516023/ |title=Elvis Costello Recalls 'SNL' Stunt That Got Him Banned: 'I Just Wanted Them to Remember Us' |last=Mamo |first=Heran |date=25 January 2021 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=2 March 2022 |archive-date=21 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221001625/https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/elvis-costello-recalls-snl-performance-stunt-apple-music-interview-9516023/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/elvis-costello-snl-banned/ |title=Why Elvis Costello Got Banned from 'Saturday Night Live' |last=DeRiso |first=Nick |date=17 December 2015 |website=[[Ultimate Classic Rock]] |access-date=2 March 2022 |archive-date=28 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211228155112/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/elvis-costello-snl-banned/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Writing and recording==
[[File:MFF N Lowe-9573 (38373656842).jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|alt=An older man with glasses and grey hair|''This Year's Model'' was the second of five consecutively produced Costello albums by [[Nick Lowe]] ''(pictured in 2017)''.<ref name="2002 liner notes" />]]
''This Year's Model'' was recorded during a break in Costello's touring schedule.{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 4}} Recording took place at [[Eden Studios (recording facility)|Eden Studios]], a 24-track studio in [[Acton, London]],{{sfn|Costello|2015|pp=314–319}} beginning towards the end of December 1977 and completing in early January 1978. Costello later said the entire album was recorded in about eleven days.<ref name="1993 liner notes">{{cite AV media notes|last=Costello|first=Elvis|title=This Year's Model (reissue)|others=Elvis Costello|year=1993|location=UK|publisher=[[Demon Records]]|type=CD booklet|id=DPAM 2}}</ref><ref name="MojoClassic">{{cite journal |last=Tyler |first=Kieron |title=''This Year's Model'': Elvis Costello & the Attractions |journal=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo Classic]] |date=March 2008 |volume=2 |issue=5 |page=129}}</ref>{{sfn|Costello|2015|p=54}} The band briefly paused to play a three-night [[concert residency|residency]] at London's Nashville Rooms, which concluded on Christmas Eve 1977.{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}} [[Nick Lowe]] returned from ''My Aim Is True'' as producer and, in Thomson's words, was the "mad professor", pushing the band's energy further to attain the best performance.{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 4}} Like the debut, Lowe primarily wanted to capture the songs live with few [[Overdubbing|overdubs]].{{sfn|Costello|2015|pp=314–319}} Acting as a foil to Lowe was [[Audio engineer|engineer]] [[Roger Béchirian]], who Costello recalled was tasked with interpreting Lowe's commands, such as "turn the drums into one big maraca" or "make it sound like a dinosaur eating cars".{{efn|Béchirian continued to work with Costello on his next four Lowe-produced albums.<ref name="2002 liner notes" />}}

Costello stayed at Bruce Thomas's flat during the sessions. According to Thomson, Costello remained focused despite keeping himself apart from his wife Mary during this time, which eventually led to their separation.{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 4}} Most of the songs had been written and performed live with the Attractions before the recordings.{{sfn|St. Michael|1986|loc=chap. 3}}<ref name="2002 liner notes" /> One of the final tracks written was "[[Pump It Up (Elvis Costello song)|Pump It Up]]", which Costello began writing outside a hotel fire escape during the Live Stiffs tour, debuting the song two days later and properly recording it in the studio a week after that.{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 4}}{{sfn|Costello|2015|p=189}} Having frequently played the tracks live, the band were able to complete them with few overdubs; some of Costello's live guide vocals ended up in the final mix. Bruce Thomas recalled: "We literally did the best tracks on the album – "Pump It Up", "[[(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea]]" – in one afternoon. It was like [[Motown]]. We'd just go in, play them, and that was it."{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 4}} Despite the fast-paced nature of the sessions, Béchirian recalled Costello coming off the tour with "radiating energy":{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 4}}

{{blockquote|He was a star almost overnight, and I think he was quite bemused by it all, swept up with the excitement. I have a great laughing image of him being fairly fresh-faced, like a little boy in a sweet shop.}}

Thomson says the sessions were "vibrant", productive and completed without difficulty. They began each day around 11 a.m. and finished around 9 p.m. According to Béchirian, "the whole thing was really good, it was really friendly, very positive. Everyone was really excited because they were the stars of the moment."{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 4}} Costello and the Attractions collaborated during the songwriting process. Although Costello preferred an "immaculate approach" to songwriting, wherein he would not present songs to the musicians until they were fully written, the Attractions offered suggestions that helped shape the songs. For "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea", Costello based the guitar parts on the 1964 tracks "[[I Can't Explain]]" by [[the Who]] and "[[All Day and All of the Night]]" by [[the Kinks]], which the band used to create new [[Figure (music)|figures]] to make "Chelsea" stand out on its own.{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 4}}<ref name="2002 liner notes" /> The band recorded several [[outtake]]s, including "Radio Radio" and "Big Tears", the latter featuring a guest contribution from [[the Clash]] guitarist [[Mick Jones (The Clash guitarist)|Mick Jones]].{{efn|In the 2002 reissue's liner notes, Costello stated that "Big Tears" was the only "genuine" outtake from the ''This Year's Model'' sessions.<ref name="2002 liner notes" />}} Other tracks written or demoed included "Crawling to the U.S.A.", "Running Out of Angels", "[[Green Shirt]]" and "Big Boys".{{efn|"Green Shirt" and "Big Boys" were both recorded for Costello's next album, ''[[Armed Forces (album)|Armed Forces]]'' (1979).{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 4}}}}{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 4}}<ref name="1993 liner notes" />

===Mixing===
The album was [[Audio mixing|mixed]] at Eden by Béchirian with Lowe and Costello in attendance;<ref name="SchultzMix">{{cite journal |last=Schultz |first=Barbara |title=Classic tracks: Elvis Costello and the Attractions' 'Pump It Up' |journal=[[Mix (magazine)|Mix]] |date=January 2007 |issue=31 |pages=140–141 |url=https://www.mixonline.com/recording/projects/audio_elvis_costello_attractions/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530062314/https://www.mixonline.com/recording/projects/audio_elvis_costello_attractions/ |archive-date=30 May 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Costello did not contribute due to his relative inexperience in the studio.{{efn|Costello asserted himself more on the mixing of ''Armed Forces''.{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 5}}}}{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 4}} The mixing console had been custom-built by Béchirian in the early 1970s after the studio had changed locations.<ref name="SchultzMix" /> According to the author Mick St. Michael, Lowe intentionally made the record louder than its predecessor.{{sfn|St. Michael|1986|loc=chap. 3}} Béchirian recalled in an interview with ''[[Mix (magazine)|Mix]]'' magazine that Lowe's primary goal was to "make sure the bass sat in well with the kick" and to bring Costello's voice to the forefront.<ref name="SchultzMix" /> With the record completed, Costello and the Attractions toured America in January 1978.{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 4}}{{sfn|Clayton-Lea|1999|loc=chap. 2}}

==Music and lyrics==
{{quote box|quote=''This Year's Model'' is a collection of songs that focused as much on Costello's recent success as on his by now patented emotional self-lacerations. Musically it seethed with tension, and this fitted the obsessive elements of the majority of the songs.{{nbsp}}... Through the music, twitching and stuttering in a series of drum bursts, rents of organ and guitar arcs, the songs breathed as if through a gas mask – tight, controlled, afraid to splutter, claustrophobic, yet with a clear view of what was happening.{{sfn|Clayton-Lea|1999|loc=chap. 2}}|source=—Tony Clayton-Lea, ''Elvis Costello: A Biography''|width=30%|align=right|style=padding:8px;}}
In the 2002 liner notes, Costello mentioned [[the Rolling Stones]]' ''[[Aftermath (Rolling Stones album)|Aftermath]]'' (1966) as a major influence on ''This Year's Model''.{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}}<ref name="2002 liner notes" /> Musically, the album embraces several styles, including [[New wave music|new wave]],<ref name="punknews.org" /><ref name="PasteBestof">{{Cite web |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/09/the-best-new-wave-albums.html |title=The 50 Best New Wave Albums |last1=Jackson |first1=Josh |last2=Martin |first2=Garrett |date=8 September 2016 |website=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]] |access-date=27 December 2017 |archive-date=1 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171001214341/https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/09/the-best-new-wave-albums.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Sexton |first=Paul |title='This Year's Model': New Wave 1978-Style From Elvis Costello |url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/elvis-costello-this-years-model-album/ |website=uDiscoverMusic |access-date=1 March 2022 |date=17 March 2021 |archive-date=24 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224000707/https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/elvis-costello-this-years-model-album/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[power pop]],{{sfn|Borack|2007|p=190}} [[punk rock]],{{sfn|Bonomo|Marcus|Whitman Prenshaw|2012|p=85}} [[garage rock]],<ref name="Segretto 2022">{{cite book|title=33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute - A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999|first=Mike|last=Segretto|date=2022|chapter= 1979|page= 364|publisher=Backbeat|isbn=9781493064601|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jtNtEAAAQBAJ}}</ref> and [[pop rock]];<ref name="Bray CoS" /> St. Michael also recognised references to [[Merseybeat]] and [[Glam rock|glam]].{{sfn|St. Michael|1986|loc=chap. 3}} According to biographer Tony Clayton-Lea, rather than reusing the [[rockabilly]] and [[Country music|country]] sounds of ''My Aim Is True'', ''This Year's Model'' opts for straightforward [[Pop music|pop]] music "as influenced by punk rock".{{sfn|Clayton-Lea|1999|loc=chap. 2}} [[AllMusic]] editor [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]], on the other hand, defines the album as pure punk, with music that is "nervous, amphetamine-fueled, [and] nearly paranoid".<ref name="AllMusic" />

In a contemporary interview with ''[[Creem]]'' magazine, Costello said the record contained less humour than its predecessor: "It's more vicious overall but far less personal, though."{{sfn|Clayton-Lea|1999|loc=chap. 2}} Referencing technologies of mass control, from corporate logos to night rallies, Hinton writes that the lyrics are "strongly visual, as befits the voyeurism which fuels many of the songs".{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}} References to objects such as cameras, films and telephones are present throughout many tracks, in both positive and negative lights, which the author David Gouldstone argues creates a disillusioned world where greed and revenge are dominant. Like the cover artwork itself, the mechanical imagery emphasises observation rather than participation. Themes of uncertainty between reality and artifice previously emerged on "Watching the Detectives", and appear throughout ''This Year's Model'' on tracks such as "Pump It Up", "[[This Year's Girl (song)|This Year's Girl]]" and "Living In Paradise".{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} The author James E. Perone interprets songs like "[[Lipstick Vogue]]", "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" and "This Year's Girl" as relating to Costello's former job working at cosmetics and perfume company [[Elizabeth Arden, Inc.|Elizabeth Arden]].{{sfn|Perone|2015|p=6}}

Some reviewers identified themes of [[misogyny]]. In 1978, the writer [[Jon Pareles]] found the album "so wrong-headed, so full of hatred, [and] so convinced of its moral superiority" in ''[[Crawdaddy (magazine)|Crawdaddy]]'' magazine.<ref name="Crawdaddy">{{cite magazine|last=Pareles|first=Jon|author-link=Jon Pareles|title=Below the Belt|magazine=[[Crawdaddy (magazine)|Crawdaddy]]|issue=85|date=June 1978|page=70}}</ref> Drawing comparisons to ''Aftermath''{{'s}} similar lyrical content,{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}} ''[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]]'' magazine's [[Jon Savage]] said that "at least on occasion Elvis has the grace to make clear that it's a two-way process and {{em|he's}} at fault. Just wanna be your victim{{nbsp}}...".<ref name="Sounds" /> Costello himself later wrote in the 2002 reissue's liner notes that he never understood the misogynistic accusations, believing they "clearly contained more sense of disappointment than disgust".<ref name="2002 liner notes" /> Costello's failure to succeed romantically is the focal point of most of the relationships described in the album.{{sfn|Clayton-Lea|1999|loc=chap. 2}} ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' writer [[Kit Rachlis]] agreed, stating that all romances on the album are over or are about to commence, including a situation where he is unsure of whether to answer the phone or not ("No Action") or coming to terms after rejecting all compromises ("Lipstick Vogue").<ref name="Rachlis RS" />

===Side one===
[[File:Rolling Stones 1967.jpg|thumb|alt=The Rolling Stones in 1967|Several tracks on ''This Year's Model'' are influenced by [[the Rolling Stones]] ''(pictured in 1967)''; Costello himself cited their album ''[[Aftermath (Rolling Stones album)|Aftermath]]'' (1966) as a major influence.]]
"No Action" begins with Costello's solo voice.{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}} The lyrics detail the regret of a failed relationship. Gouldstone said that the song is the first example of Costello's use of "thematic punning", meaning the incorporation of references that indirectly relate to the song's main subject; "No Action", in this case, uses a telephone as comparisons to the narrator's companion.{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} According to Costello, "This Year's Girl" was written as an "answer song" to the Rolling Stones' "[[Stupid Girl (Rolling Stones song)|Stupid Girl]]" (1965).<ref name="2002 liner notes" />{{sfn|Costello|2015|pp=314–319}} Other influences included the mid-1960s works of [[the Beatles]].{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}}<ref name="Troper PM" />{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 5}} In his 2015 memoir, Costello wrote that the song discusses how men see women and what they desire from them.{{sfn|Costello|2015|pp=190–191}} The song's subject has achieved fame through fashion but it is only temporary, as by the next year, another girl will take her place. Once she realises it as time runs out, she feels cheated but by then it is too late.{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} "The Beat" is primarily led by Nieve's keyboard and the rhythm section of Bruce and Pete Thomas.<ref>{{cite web |last=Maginnis |first=Tom |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/the-beat-mt0002980530/ |title='The Beat' – Elvis Costello |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=4 March 2022 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924122858/http://www.allmusic.com/song/the-beat-mt0002980530 |url-status=live }}</ref> The song explores the uncertainties and pains of adolescence and early manhood,{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} and Hinton regards it as the closest thing on the album to romantic love.{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}} It quotes [[Cliff Richard]]'s "[[Summer Holiday (song)|Summer Holiday]]" (1963) as a way to express enjoyment before the narrator is sought after by vigilantes.{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}}<ref name="Troper PM" />

"Pump It Up" was based on the stylings of [[Bob Dylan]]'s "[[Subterranean Homesick Blues]]" (1965) and [[Chuck Berry]]'s "[[Too Much Monkey Business]]" (1956).{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}}{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 5}} An energetic attack on a female [[chic]] society's member, the song takes place in a nightclub, where its self-important members aspire to fit into high society, seeking purpose.{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} The vocals are fuelled by obsessive sexual desire,{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}} while the rhythmic guitar riff is likened by Gouldstone to [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]].{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} Writing for AllMusic, Mark Deming stated that the song "perfectly captures the giddy but terrifying feeling of a wild, adrenaline-fueled all-night party that's dangling on the verge of collapse."<ref>{{cite web |last=Deming |first=Mark |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/pump-it-up-mt0004611550 |title='Pump It Up' – Elvis Costello |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=4 March 2022 |archive-date=22 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322012929/http://www.allmusic.com/song/pump-it-up-mt0004611550 |url-status=live }}</ref> A softer track changing from soft [[Soul music|soul]] to [[Burt Bacharach]],{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}} "Little Triggers" is about a failing relationship caused by the woman's indifference.{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} The 'little triggers' refer to the small things that occur in the beginning of a relationship that make it meaningful, such as kissing, body-brushing and lip expressions.<ref name="Troper PM" /> ''[[Rock Australia Magazine]]''{{'s}} [[Anthony O'Grady]] called it "a hypnotic, frustrated, hurt love song that's almost the mirror image of '[[Alison (song)|Alison]]' [from ''My Aim Is True'']."<ref name="Kent NME" /><ref name="RAM" /> "You Belong to Me" is heavily in debt to the Rolling Stones,{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}}<ref name="Troper PM" /> using the same riff as "[[The Last Time (Rolling Stones song)|The Last Time]]" (1965).{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 5}}{{sfn|Perone|2015|pp=16–25}} Lyrically, it is a plea for sexual freedom and is full of resentment and anger.{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} Musically, AllMusic's Stewart Mason likens it to 1960s [[garage rock]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Mason |first=Stewart |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/you-belong-to-me-mt0000959447 |title='You Belong to Me' – Elvis Costello Song Review |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=4 March 2022 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924150158/http://www.allmusic.com/song/you-belong-to-me-mt0000959447 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Side two===
The track "Hand in Hand" opens with guitar [[Feedback (music)|feedback]] evoking the Beatles and [[Jimi Hendrix]]. Although the music provides a Merseybeat shuffle,{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}}<ref name="Troper PM" /> the dark and revenge-driven lyrics follow two lovers walking hand in hand straight to [[Hell]]. Like "No Action" and ''My Aim Is True''{{'s}} "I'm Not Angry", the narrator tries to deal with chaotic emotions by denying they ever occurred.{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}}{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" is a [[ska]]-infected rocker<ref>{{cite web |last=Maginnis |first=Tom |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/i-dont-want-to-go-to-chelsea-mt0002198379 |title='(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea' – Elvis Costello |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=4 March 2022 |archive-date=30 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030170232/https://www.allmusic.com/song/i-dont-want-to-go-to-chelsea-mt0002198379 |url-status=live }}</ref> that was originally directly influenced by the works of the Who, before Bruce and Pete Thomas contributed new rhythms that made the track stand out on its own.<ref name="2002 liner notes" /><ref name="Troper PM" /> Lyrically, the song attacks fashionable society; the girl is described as 'last year's model', as she has suffered a fall from grace.{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} According to Rachlis, "Chelsea represents Costello's nightmare world of success, where deceit is masked by propriety and last year's model is thrown out with yesterday's wash."<ref name="Rachlis RS" /> "Lip Service" represents a culmination of Beatles influences into a track that contains sexual innuendos, both in its lyrics and title. It is primarily led by Bruce Thomas's bassline, which Hinton compares to the sound of [[the Hollies]].{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}}<ref name="Troper PM" /> The partially vague lyrics express a narrator's sexual frustrations on a would-be lover and observations on insincerity around him.{{sfn|Perone|2015|pp=16–25}}

"Living in Paradise" was written in 1975 when Costello was a member of the [[Pub rock (United Kingdom)|pub rock]] band Flip City.{{sfn|St. Michael|1986|loc=chap. 3}} O'Grady calls it as "shuffling power-pop [[reggae]] detailing how dreams of soft-living actualise in soul-decaying corruption".<ref name="RAM" /> Morgan Troper of ''[[PopMatters]]'' maintained that it abandons the punk workings of the rest of the album for a ska-type rhythm.<ref name="Troper PM" /> According to Gouldstone the track has themes already present in the album's other songs,{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} including misogynistic ideals.<ref name="Troper PM" /> "Lipstick Vogue" is described by AllMusic's Tom Maginnis as a showcase for the band's energy and skill.<ref>{{cite web |last=Maginnis |first=Tom |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/lipstick-vogue-mt0000452070 |title='Lipstick Vogue' – Elvis Costello |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=4 March 2022 |archive-date=14 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414180232/https://www.allmusic.com/song/lipstick-vogue-mt0000452070 |url-status=live }}</ref> It opens with a drum fill by Pete Thomas before Bruce Thomas and Nieve drive on bass and keyboards, respectively.<ref name="Troper PM" /> Reflecting themes of alienation,{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}} the song is about the perils of imperfect love.{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} "Night Rally" provides commentary on the then-prevalent [[National Front (UK)|UK National Front]].<ref name="Kent NME" /><ref name="RAM" /> It presents, in Hinton's words, a "nightmare of state control and worse" that argues how [[totalitarianism]] infiltrates and affects society. Costello compares conglomerate corporations to these types of governments, in how they attempt to control the people.{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}}{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} It cuts off abruptly, ending the album on, in St. Michael's words, "an explicit and disturbingly pessimistic note".{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}}{{sfn|St. Michael|1986|loc=chap. 3}}

==Packaging and artwork==
{{quote box|quote=We wanted to catch people's eyes. If they said, 'Why is it printed off register?' as the initial pressing was, it was because we wanted people to ask exactly that. It meant they'd pause just that little bit longer in front of our sleeve.{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}}|source=—Elvis Costello on the cover|width=30%|align=right|style=padding:8px;}}
The original UK cover artwork for ''This Year's Model'' was deliberately off-centre,{{sfn|Parkyn|1984|pp=38–39}} making the title appear as ''His Year's Model'' and the artist "Lvis Costello".{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}}{{sfn|St. Michael|1986|loc=chap. 3}}<ref name="1978 liner notes" /> The design by [[Barney Bubbles]] left a printers' colour bar intact along the right side.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lynam |first=Ian |title=The Genius of Graphic Designer Barney Bubbles |url=https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2015/03/barney-bubbles-feature/ |website=Red Bull Music Academy |date=13 March 2015 |access-date=18 March 2022 |archive-date=28 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128103458/https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2015/03/barney-bubbles-feature/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The American and Swedish sleeves were lined up correctly and not off-centre.{{sfn|Parkyn|1984|pp=38–39}} Riviera's [[F-Beat Records]] released a May 1980 issue with an aligned sleeve, which has been retained for all subsequent releases.{{sfn|Hinton|1999|p=434}}{{sfn|Parkyn|1984|pp=38–39}}

Photographed by Chris Gabrin,<ref>{{cite web |last=Gabrin |first=Chris |title=Chris Gabrin: Elvis Costello, 'This Year's Model' session |url=https://www.snapgalleries.com/product/chris-gabrin-elvis-costello-this-years-model-session/ |website=Snap Galleries |access-date=17 March 2019 |archive-date=5 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191205042758/https://www.snapgalleries.com/product/chris-gabrin-elvis-costello-this-years-model-session/ |url-status=live }}</ref> the front cover depicts Costello in his signature black framed glasses, wearing a dark suit with a polka dot shirt, glaring from behind a camera on a tripod. In Thomson's words, he is "expressionless" and "both observed and observing".{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}}{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 5}} According to Hinton, it was a "careful reconstruction" of [[David Hemmings]] from [[Michelangelo Antonioni]]'s ''[[Blowup|Blow Up]]'' (1966). The British cover had Costello standing back with his hands open; on the American cover, he crouched forward with both hands gripping the camera like a gun;{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}} a third shot was also used for the Swedish release.{{sfn|Parkyn|1984|pp=38–39}} The back cover depicts Costello and the Attractions in a small, dimly lit hotel room reacting to a television with mock horror. Three of them are wearing black ties while Nieve dons a V-neck pullover.{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}} The inner sleeve depicts a robotic hand gripping a miniature TV on which Costello is playing, standing on one leg, and the other side depicts four colour-coded and dismembered mannequin bodies wearing string vests in a laundromat.{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}} Hinton states that the label's gimmick at the time was off-centre sleeves and avant-garde inner fold images.{{sfn|Hinton|1999|p=434}}

The Attractions were acknowledged on the LP labels but did not receive sleeve credits on the original release.{{sfn|St. Michael|1986|loc=chap. 3}}<ref name="1978 liner notes" /> The LP labels contain text between the holding spirals reading "Special pressing No. 003. Ring 434-3232. Ask for Moira for your prize".{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}}{{sfn|Parkyn|1984|pp=38–39}} Packaged with the first 50,000 copies of the LP was a free 7" [[Single (music)|single]] containing "[[Stranger in the House (song)|Stranger in the House]]", an outtake from ''My Aim Is True'' left off the album due to its country-influenced sound,<ref>{{cite AV media notes|last=Costello|first=Elvis|title=My Aim Is True (reissue)|others=Elvis Costello|year=1993|publisher=[[Demon Records]]|type=CD booklet|id=DPAM 1}}</ref> with a live cover of [[The Damned (band)|the Damned]]'s "[[Neat Neat Neat]]" as the B-side.{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 5}} The first American pressings contain Costello's rather than Columbia's logo.{{sfn|Hinton|1999|p=434}}

==Release and promotion==
The band's North American tour before the album's release lasted from January to {{nowrap|early March 1978}}. The setlist consisted of tracks from both ''My Aim Is True'' and ''This Year's Model'', as well as B-sides and covers. The tour was positively received, but contributed to the growing exhaustion of Costello and the Attractions.{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 5}}

Radar released the first single, "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea", backed by "You Belong to Me", on 3{{nbsp}}March 1978 in the UK,{{sfn|Hinton|1999|p=426}} which received acclaim and reached number 16 on the [[UK Singles Chart]].{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}} A performance in Toronto on 6{{nbsp}}March was heavily [[Bootleg recording|bootlegged]], and was eventually issued as ''[[Live at the El Mocambo (Elvis Costello album)|Live at the El Mocambo]]'' in 1993 with the ''[[2½ Years]]'' box set, and as a standalone release in 2009.<ref>{{cite web |last=Deming |first=Mark |title=''Live at the El Mocambo'' – Elvis Costello / Elvis Costello & the Attractions |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/live-at-the-el-mocambo-mw0000621594 |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=5 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207003310/https://www.allmusic.com/album/live-at-the-el-mocambo-mw0000621594 |archive-date=7 December 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13533-live-at-the-el-mocambo/ |first=Stephen M. |last=Deusner |title=Elvis Costello – ''Live at the El Mocambo'' (rec. 1978, rel. 1993) album review |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |date=13 October 2009 |access-date=5 July 2022 |archive-date=19 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119113247/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13533-live-at-the-el-mocambo/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ''This Year's Model'' was released in the UK on 17{{nbsp}}March{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 5}}<ref name="UCR" /> with the catalogue number RAD{{nbsp}}3.<ref name="1978 liner notes">{{cite AV media notes|author=Anon.|title=This Year's Model|others=Elvis Costello|year=1978|location=UK|publisher=[[Radar Records]]|type=LP sleeve notes|id=RAD 3}}</ref> Costello and the Attractions undertook a 28-date UK tour between March and April. The dates were plagued with problems, including Bruce Thomas cutting his hand smashing a glass bottle, requiring Lowe to substitute for him; Thomas wore bandages for the filming of [[Music video|promotional clips]] for "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" and "Pump It Up".{{sfn|Costello|2015|pp=253–254, 321–322}} Costello grew more exhausted from constant touring but continued writing new material.{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 5}} By the tour's end, ''This Year's Model'' had reached number 4 on the [[UK Albums Chart]].<ref name="UKchart" />{{sfn|Clayton-Lea|1999|loc=chap. 2}}

[[File:Elvis Costello 1978.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A man with glasses holding a guitar|Costello onstage in April 1978, shortly after the release of ''This Year's Model''.]]
Another US tour commenced just three days after the previous tour's end. With Bruce Thomas still unavailable, Costello brought back Clover guitarist John Ciambotti, who only had one day of rehearsal. Throughout the tour, Costello and the band continued the wild behaviour they had become known for—both on and off stage—and experienced an increase in drug use, lack of sleep and growing exhaustion. Songs that would appear on Costello's next album, 1979's ''[[Armed Forces (album)|Armed Forces]]'', began appearing in the set-lists.{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 5}}{{sfn|Clayton-Lea|1999|loc=chap. 2}} ''This Year's Model'' was issued in the US in May{{nbsp}}1978;{{sfn|Hinton|1999|p=434}} Columbia substituted "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" and "Night Rally" with "Radio Radio" on the notion that the lyrics on both tracks were "too English".<ref name="2002 liner notes" /> It reached to number 30 on ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]''{{'s}} [[Billboard 200|Top LPs & Tape]] chart.<ref name="US chart" /> The Scandinavian release retained the UK track listing and added "Watching the Detectives" as the final track on side one.<ref>{{cite AV media notes|author=Anon.|title=This Year's Model|others=Elvis Costello|year=1978|location=Scandinavia|publisher=[[Smash Records]]|type=LP sleeve notes|id=SLEPT 2}}</ref> It reached number 10 in Sweden.<ref name="sechart" /> Elsewhere, ''This Year's Model'' reached the top 20 in New Zealand (11),<ref name="nzchart" /> the Netherlands (14) and Norway (15),<ref name="nlchart" /><ref name="norcharts" /> and the top 30 in Canada (21) and Australia (26).<ref name="CANchart" /><ref name="auchart" />

The tour lasted until June{{nbsp}}1978, after which the band again toured Europe.{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 5}} "Pump It Up", backed by "Big Tears", was released as the second single in June,{{sfn|Hinton|1999|p=426}}{{sfn|Parkyn|1984|p=22}} which peaked at number 24 in the UK, earning Costello another appearance on [[BBC]]'s ''[[Top of the Pops]]''. In July, Costello recorded "Stranger in the House" with country artist [[George Jones]], which appeared on the latter's ''[[My Very Special Guests]]'' album in 1979, before commencing the recording sessions for ''Armed Forces''.{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}}{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 5}}{{sfn|Clayton-Lea|1999|loc=chap. 2}} "This Year's Girl", backed by "Big Tears", was issued as a US single.{{sfn|Parkyn|1984|p=22}} After appearing on the American LP, "Radio Radio" was released as a stand-alone single in the UK on 24{{nbsp}}October 1978, backed by "Tiny Steps".<ref name="2002 liner notes" />{{sfn|Hinton|1999|p=426}}
{{clear}}

==Critical reception==
{{Album ratings
| subtitle = Initial reviews
| rev1 = ''[[DownBeat]]''
| rev1score = {{rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite journal|title=Elvis Costello|last=Carman|first=Charles|journal=[[DownBeat]]|date=13 July 1978|volume=45|issue=13|page=36}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Music Week]]''
| rev2score = {{rating|4|4}}<ref name="MusicWeek">{{cite magazine|title=''This Year's Model'': Elvis Costello|magazine=[[Music Week]]|date=18 March 1978|page=56|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1978/Music-Week-1978-03-18.pdf|access-date=21 August 2022|via=worldradiohistory.com|archive-date=30 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930095019/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1978/Music-Week-1978-03-18.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Record Mirror]]''
| rev3score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref name="Lott" />
| rev4 = ''[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]]''
| rev4score = {{rating|4.5|5}}<ref name="Sounds">{{cite magazine |last=Savage |first=Jon |author-link=Jon Savage |title=Elvis Costello: ''This Year's Model'' |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/elvis-costello-this-years-model-2 |magazine=[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]] |date=11 March 1978 |page=26 |access-date=5 March 2022 |via=Rock's Backpages {{subscription required}} |archive-date=5 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305220144/https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/elvis-costello-this-years-model-2 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[The Village Voice]]''
| rev5score = A<ref name="Christgau">{{cite book |chapter=Elvis Costello: ''This Year's Model'' |chapter-url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=1153 |access-date=16 October 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041106042050/http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=1153 |archive-date=6 November 2004 |url-status=live |title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies |title-link=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau |location=Boston |publisher=[[Ticknor and Fields]] |year=1981 |isbn=978-0-89919-026-6}}</ref>
}}
''This Year's Model'' was well received on release.{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 5}} Many critics deemed it superior to ''My Aim Is True'', praised the Attractions as a better band than Clover, and highlighted the strong songwriting and performances.{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:<ref name="Crawdaddy" /><ref name="Kent NME" /><ref name="Sounds" /><ref name="Trouser Press">{{cite magazine |last=Robbins |first=Ira |title=Elvis Costello: ''This Year's Model'' |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/elvis-costello-this-years-model |magazine=[[Trouser Press]] |date=May 1978 |access-date=1 March 2022 |via=Rock's Backpages {{subscription required}} |archive-date=20 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920052711/https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/elvis-costello-this-years-model |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="RAM" /><ref name="LA Times" /><ref name="Billboard" /><ref name="CashBox" /><ref name="WashingtonPost" />}} ''[[Melody Maker]]''{{'s}} [[Allan Jones (editor)|Allan Jones]] called it "an achievement so comprehensive, so inspired, that it exhausts superlatives". He wrote that "the penetration of the language matches the vaulting hysteria of the performance" and concluded that the record "promotes its author to the foremost ranks of contemporary rock writers", such as [[Bruce Springsteen]].<ref name="Jones">{{cite magazine|last=Jones|first=Allan|author-link=Allan Jones (editor)|title=Elvis on Revenge|magazine=[[Melody Maker]]|date=11 March 1978|page=17}}</ref> ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]'' remarked that ''This Year's Model'' allowed Costello to surpass early comparisons of Springsteen and [[Graham Parker]] to establish his own identity.<ref name="CashBox">{{cite magazine |title=Album Reviews |magazine=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]] |date=8 April 1978 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1978/CB-1978-04-08.pdf |page=18 |access-date=21 August 2022 |via=worldradiohistory.com |archive-date=10 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410040046/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1978/CB-1978-04-08.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Rock Australia Magazine]]''{{'s}} [[Anthony O'Grady]] dubbed ''This Year's Model'' "the best collection of...fashion-conscious songs since [[Ray Davies]] [of the Kinks] started his '[[Dedicated Follower of Fashion]]' period."<ref name="RAM">{{cite magazine |last=O'Grady |first=Anthony |author-link=Anthony O'Grady |title=Elvis Costello & The Attractions: ''This Year's Model'' (Radar) |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/elvis-costello--the-attractions-ithis-years-modeli-radar |magazine=[[Rock Australia Magazine]] |date=5 May 1978 |access-date=1 March 2022 |via=[[Rock's Backpages]] {{subscription required}} |archive-date=19 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419062326/https://rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/elvis-costello--the-attractions-ithis-years-modeli-radar |url-status=live }}</ref> Tom Zito of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' had a hard time recalling an artist whose sophomore record surpassed their "already impressive" debut.<ref name="WashingtonPost">{{cite magazine|last=Zito|first=Tom|title=Costello's stormy rock|magazine=[[The Washington Post]]|date=3 May 1978}}</ref>

{{quote box|quote=Costello is currently the best. There's simply no-one within spitting distance of him. He has his finger on the pulse of this desperate era and his perceptions are so disquieting because all too often they're too damn real to be strenuously ignored.{{nbsp}}... Meanwhile, ''Model'' is just too powerful, too dazzling to be ignored or {{no wrap|sidestepped.<ref name="Kent NME">{{cite magazine |last=Kent |first=Nick |author-link=Nick Kent |title=Elvis Costello: ''This Year's Model'' (Radar Records) |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/elvis-costello-ithis-years-modeli-radar-records |magazine=[[NME]] |date=11 March 1978 |page=37 |access-date=1 March 2022 |via=Rock's Backpages {{subscription required}} |archive-date=22 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922145054/https://rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/elvis-costello-ithis-years-modeli-radar-records |url-status=live }}</ref>}}|source=—[[Nick Kent]], ''[[NME]]'', 1978|width=30%|align=left|style=padding:8px;}}
Several reviewers placed Costello as one of the best British New Wave artists.{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:<ref name="MusicWeek" /><ref name="CashBox" /><ref name="WashingtonPost" /><ref name="Billboard" /><ref name="RockwellNYTimes" />}} In ''[[Circus (magazine)|Circus]]'' magazine, Fred Schruers lauded his lyrics, musicianship and angry persona, and cited ''This Year's Model'' as having fulfilled "every new wave expectation".<ref name="Circus">{{cite magazine |last=Schruers |first=Fred |title=Elvis Costello is Angry and Convincing: ''This Year's Model'' Fulfils Every New Wave Expectation |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/elvis-costello-is-angry-and-convincing-this-years-model-fulfils-every-new-wave-expectation |magazine=[[Circus (magazine)|Circus]] |date=22 June 1978 |access-date=1 March 2022 |via=Rock's Backpages {{subscription required}} |archive-date=15 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415172809/https://rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/elvis-costello-is-angry-and-convincing-this-years-model-fulfils-every-new-wave-expectation |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Robert Christgau]] of ''[[The Village Voice]]'' also saw Costello's emotional delivery as full of anger and grimace, which he found "more attractive musically and verbally than all his melodic and lyrical tricks". In the midst of the punk movement, Christgau acknowledged the genre's influence on the album and artist.<ref name="Christgau" /> ''Creem''{{'s}} Alan Madeleine found the artist proves himself "stylistically mindful": he is "distinct enough from any other extant act to be noted, yet cautious of excess experimentation in this establishmental sophomore phase."<ref name="Creem">{{cite magazine|last=Madeleine|first=Alan|title=''This Year's Model'': Elvis Costello|magazine=[[Creem]]|date=July 1978|page=59}}</ref> ''[[Record Mirror]]''{{'s}} [[Tim Lott]] considered the songs "less vicious" than its predecessors, but said the artist remains an "Aladdin's cave of anti-matter". He called Costello's voice "insubstantial but wiry", the music "clever in its very lack of detail", and compared the organ-heavy sound with [[Blondie (band)|Blondie]]: a Sixties sound "trapped for ten years on atmospherics".<ref name="Lott">{{cite magazine |last=Lott |first=Tim |author-link=Tim Lott |title=Elvis Costello: ''This Year's Model'' (Radar Rad 3) |magazine=[[Record Mirror]] |date=11 March 1978 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/70s/78/1978-03-11.pdf |page=14 |access-date=1 June 2022 |via=worldradiohistory.com |archive-date=16 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220716054815/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/70s/78/1978-03-11.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Naming ''This Year's Model'' the winner of May 1978's "disc derby" in the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', [[Robert Hilburn]] wrote that Costello's vocals "bristle with conviction and bite that we rarely find in rock in the '70s".<ref name="LA Times">{{cite magazine |last=Hilburn |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Hilburn |title=Pop Music: All Thoroughbreds in This Month's Disc Derby |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/384311115/?terms=elvis%20Costello%20this%20year%27s%20model&match=1 |magazine=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=7 May 1978 |page=77 |access-date=13 March 2022 |via=Newspapers.com {{subscription required}} |archive-date=13 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220313233451/https://www.newspapers.com/image/384311115/?terms=elvis%20Costello%20this%20year%27s%20model&match=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> Other critics highlighted Lowe's production.{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:<ref name="MusicWeek" /><ref name="Jones" /><ref name="Billboard">{{cite magazine |title=Top Album Picks |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=8 April 1978 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/70s/1978/Billboard%201978-04-08.pdf |page=82 |access-date=21 August 2022 |via=worldradiohistory.com |archive-date=24 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924165015/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/70s/1978/Billboard%201978-04-08.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="SelvinSFChronicle" />}}

Some critics were less enthusiastic. Savage felt Costello was "less than likable" and the Attractions "spare yet full", but ultimately considered the album "an excellent, soon-to-be-popular" record.<ref name="Sounds" /> In ''Rolling Stone'', Rachlis believed the album was more "musically and thematically" cohesive than ''My Aim Is True'', but not "diminish[ing] the prodigal brilliance" of its predecessor.<ref name="Rachlis RS">{{cite magazine |last=Rachlis |first=Kit |author-link=Kit Rachlis |title=This Year's Model |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/this-years-model-197949/ |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=1 March 2022 |date=29 June 1978 |archive-date=12 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612171424/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/this-years-model-197949/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Conversely, [[Joel Selvin]] of the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' found "no new surprises" on ''Model'', but felt the songs improved on the style exhibited on ''Aim'', concluding that it "should satisfy his growing legion of fans, as well as gain new converts".<ref name="SelvinSFChronicle">{{cite magazine|last=Selvin|first=Joel|author-link=Joel Selvin|title=England's Elvis — Solid brash|magazine=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=16 April 1978|page=49}}</ref> In ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[John Rockwell]] described ''This Year's Model'' as a "fine" record that maintains all of the artist's previous angry energy, yet "filling out the arrangements with a richness of texture (organ especially) that is very appealing".<ref name="RockwellNYTimes">{{cite news |last=Rockwell |first=John |author-link=John Rockwell |title=The Pop Life |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/21/archives/the-pop-life-bob-marley-has-a-strong-new-album.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=21 August 2022 |date=21 April 1978 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=21 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220821212344/https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/21/archives/the-pop-life-bob-marley-has-a-strong-new-album.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Pareles was critical of the overtly misogynistic themes.<ref name="Crawdaddy" />

''This Year's Model'' was voted the best album of 1978 by both ''Melody Maker'' and ''The Village Voice''.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Records of the Year|magazine=Melody Maker|date=30 December 1978|page=19}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pjres78.php |title=The 1978 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll |newspaper=[[The Village Voice]] |date=22 January 1979 |access-date=28 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090619143455/http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pjres78.php |archive-date=19 June 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> It was highly placed in other year-end lists by ''Rolling Stone'', ''NME'' (3), ''Record Mirror'' (5) and ''Sounds'' (8).<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Rolling Stone 1978 Critics' Awards |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=28 December 1978 |page=11 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=NME's best albums and tracks of 1978 |url=https://www.nme.com/features/1978-2-1045407 |website=NME |access-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609003548/https://www.nme.com/features/1978-2-1045407 |archive-date=9 June 2022 |date=10 October 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Top 10 Albums |magazine=[[Record Mirror]] |date=23 December 1978 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/70s/78/Record-Mirror-1978-12-22.pdf |page=8 |access-date=17 June 2022 |via=worldradiohistory.com |archive-date=6 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006155333/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/70s/78/Record-Mirror-1978-12-22.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Albums of the Year |date=30 December 1978 |magazine=Sounds |page=12 }}</ref>

==Legacy and influence==
{{Album ratings
| subtitle = Retrospective reviews
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="AllMusic">{{cite web |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/this-years-model-mw0000189632 |title=''This Year's Model'' – Elvis Costello |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=21 August 2022 |archive-date=23 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923094503/http://www.allmusic.com/album/this-years-model-mw0000189632 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]''
| rev2score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Blender">{{cite magazine |last=Wolk |first=Douglas |author-link=Douglas Wolk |url=http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=3128 |title=Elvis Costello: ''This Year's Model'' |magazine=[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]] |issue=34 |date=March 2005 |access-date=27 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050204164650/http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=3128 |archive-date=4 February 2005 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''
| rev3score = {{Rating|4|4}}<ref name="Chicago Tribune">{{cite news |last=Kot |first=Greg |author-link=Greg Kot |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1991-06-02-9102190176-story.html |title=The Sounds Of Elvis, From San Francisco And Beyond |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=2 June 1991 |access-date=11 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028180601/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1991-06-02-9102190176-story.html |archive-date=28 October 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[The Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev4score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|chapter=Costello, Elvis|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|title-link=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|location=London|publisher=[[Omnibus Press]]|edition=5th concise|year=2011|isbn=978-0-85712-595-8}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''
| rev5score = A<ref name="EW">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.ew.com/article/1991/05/10/elvis-costellos-albums |title=Elvis Costello's albums |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=10 May 1991 |access-date=20 September 2015 |last=White |first=Armond |author-link=Armond White |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151021214809/http://www.ew.com/article/1991/05/10/elvis-costellos-albums |archive-date=21 October 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev6score = 10/10<ref name="Pitchfork">{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/1615-this-years-model/ |title=Elvis Costello & The Attractions: ''This Year's Model'' |website=Pitchfork |date=9 May 2002 |access-date=18 October 2020 |last=LeMay |first=Matt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319145706/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/1615-this-years-model/ |archive-date=19 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev7 = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
| rev7score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Q">{{cite magazine |last=Eccleston |first=Danny |title=Elvis Costello & the Attractions: ''This Year's Model'' / ''Blood & Chocolate'' / ''Brutal Youth'' |magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]] |issue=188 |date=March 2002 |page=133}}</ref>
| rev8 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev8score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Elvis Costello |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9eocwUfoSoC&pg=PA193 |access-date=30 November 2011 |last=Sheffield |first=Rob |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor1-link=Nathan Brackett |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |editor2-link=Christian Hoard |publisher=[[Fireside Books]] |location=London |edition=4th |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-7432-0169-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/193 193–195] |archive-date=13 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213201516/https://books.google.com/books?id=t9eocwUfoSoC&pg=PA193 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| rev9 = ''[[Spin Alternative Record Guide]]''
| rev9score = 10/10{{sfn|Wyman|1995|p=92}}
| rev10 = ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]''
| rev10score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Uncut Moody">{{cite magazine |last=Moody |first=Paul |url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/album/elvis-costello-this-years-model |title=Elvis Costello – ''This Year's Model'' |magazine=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]] |issue=124 |page=84 |date=8 August 2007 |access-date=20 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304110310/http://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/album/elvis-costello-this-years-model |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
}}

''This Year's Model'' continues to receive critical acclaim. Journalists praise the Attractions' music,<ref name="AllMusic" /><ref name="Troper PM" /><ref name="Pitchfork" /> describing them as one of the best backing bands in rock music.<ref name="Bray CoS" /><ref name="Troper PM" /><ref name="M&K PM" /> Gouldstone wrote that with Costello on guitar, they became a band who are "capable of making even mediocre music listenable and of giving Costello's greatest songs an enthralling sense of intensity and immediacy."{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} Erlewine described them as giving the album a "reckless, careening feel", further commending the sound, concluding that "Costello and the Attractions never rocked this hard, or this vengefully, ever again."<ref name="AllMusic" /> Writing for ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' in 2002, Matt LeMay said they were the reason the album was superior to ''My Aim Is True'', and that "it's not only a more complex and dynamic album, but also one that steers well clear of the retro guitar twang that marred the less interesting bits of his debut."<ref name="Pitchfork" /> Declaring ''This Year's Model'' not only Costello's best, but one of the best albums ever made, he stated that it balanced the "raw energy" of its predecessor with the "more elegant pop songwriting" of his later works."<ref name="Pitchfork" /> Writing for ''[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]'' magazine, [[Douglas Wolk]] considered the Attractions "perfect creative foils" for Costello, particularly signalling out Nieve's playing throughout the record.<ref name="Blender" />

Critics consider ''This Year's Model'' one of Costello's best, and "angriest",<ref name="Bray CoS" /><ref name="RS 2008" /> works.<ref name="UCR" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Gallucci |first=Michael |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/elvis-costello-albums-ranked/ |title=Elvis Costello Albums Ranked Worst to Best |website=[[Ultimate Classic Rock]] |date=15 February 2022 |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225071018/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/elvis-costello-albums-ranked/ |archive-date=25 February 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Spin" /> ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]''{{'s}} Al Shipley argued that Costello was never able surpass the record's "inventive punch",<ref name="Spin">{{cite magazine |last=Shipley |first=Al |url=https://www.spin.com/2022/01/elvis-costello-albums-ranked/ |title=Every Elvis Costello Album, Ranked |magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]] |date=30 January 2022 |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220219184839/https://www.spin.com/2022/01/elvis-costello-albums-ranked/ |archive-date=19 February 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> while Michael Gallucci of ''[[Ultimate Classic Rock]]'' deemed it the work that "bridged his brief past with his wide-open future".<ref name="UCR">{{cite web |last=Gallucci |first=Michael |title=How Elvis Costello Created His Masterpiece, 'This Year's Model' |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/elvis-costello-this-years-model/ |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |access-date=1 March 2022 |date=17 March 2018 |archive-date=29 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029173310/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/elvis-costello-this-years-model/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Troper deemed it Costello's "most consistent" release and finest with the Attractions, finding it the artist's "most live-sounding, most punk, and most honest record of his dauntingly expansive career".<ref name="Troper PM">{{cite web |last=Troper |first=Morgan |title=Between the Grooves: Elvis Costello – 'This Year's Model' |url=https://www.popmatters.com/elvis-costello-this-years-model-2650329505.html |website=[[PopMatters]] |pages=1–12 |access-date=1 March 2022 |date=5 February 2021 |archive-date=14 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914162147/https://www.popmatters.com/elvis-costello-this-years-model-2650329505.html |url-status=live }}</ref> ''PopMatters'' writers Jason Mendelsohn and Eric Klinger hailed the album as "simple, refreshing, and surprisingly modern" and "an object lesson that the New Wave could compete on the old school's field", respectively.<ref name="M&K PM">{{cite web |last1=Mendelsohn |first1=Jason |last2=Klinger |first2=Eric|title=Counterbalance No. 79: Elvis Costello's 'This Year's Model' |url=https://www.popmatters.com/157449-elvis-costello-2495861071.html |website=PopMatters |access-date=18 March 2022 |date=27 April 2012 |archive-date=11 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111190249/https://www.popmatters.com/157449-elvis-costello-2495861071.html|url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Consequence (publication)|Consequence of Sound]]''{{'s}} Ryan Bray named it the first of Costello and the Attractions' eight-year run he nicknamed "murderer's row".<ref name="Bray CoS">{{cite web |last=Bray |first=Ryan |title='This Year's Model' Is Still Elvis Costello at His Angry Best |url=https://consequence.net/2018/03/this-years-model-is-still-elvis-costello-at-his-angry-best/ |website=[[Consequence (publication)|Consequence of Sound]] |access-date=1 March 2022 |date=17 March 2018 |archive-date=11 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711194314/https://consequence.net/2018/03/this-years-model-is-still-elvis-costello-at-his-angry-best/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Reviewing in 2008, ''Rolling Stone''{{'s}} [[Rob Sheffield]] named ''This Year's Model'' as an album everyone should own, saying the songs "remain brutally funny, sung with moments of unexpected tenderness".<ref name="RS 2008" /> Regarding Costello's musicianship, ''Uncut''{{'s}} Paul Moody argued that after he "dispensed with his musical safety net entirely" from ''My Aim Is True'', ''This Year's Model'' began "his insatiable urge to 'bite the hand that feeds me'."<ref name="Uncut Moody" /> The album was not without its detractors. ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'' magazine's Jim Irvin was more mixed on the material and arrangements, overall finding the album "unfeasibly invigorating" following its "mild-mannered" predecessor, but liked Lowe's production.<ref name="Mojo 2002">{{cite magazine |last=Irvin |first=Jim |title=Elvis Costello: ''This Year's Model/Blood & Chocolate/Brutal Youth'' |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/elvis-costello-ithis-years-modelblood--chocolatebrutal-youthi |magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]] |date=March 2002 |access-date=1 March 2022 |via=Rock's Backpages {{subscription required}} |archive-date=5 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205105845/https://rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/elvis-costello-ithis-years-modelblood--chocolatebrutal-youthi |url-status=live }}</ref>

Some reviewers mention the album's influence on punk and its evolution into new wave. In 2002, ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]'' magazine's Chris Roberts called Costello the "bitter bard of the punk era", writing that with ''This Year's Model'', he "articulat[ed] a generation's ire every bit as caustically as the [Sex] Pistols' gigantic guitars".<ref name="Uncut Roberts">{{cite magazine |last=Roberts |first=Chris |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/elvis-costello-reissues |title=Elvis Costello: Reissues |magazine=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]] |date=April 2002 |access-date=1 March 2022 |via=Rock's Backpages {{subscription required}} |archive-date=14 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814175513/https://rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/elvis-costello-reissues |url-status=live }}</ref> Bray cited it as the album that proved pop and punk could co-exist.<ref name="Bray CoS" /> Writing for ''[[Record Collector]]'' in 2008, Terry Staunton cited it as "the [[post-punk]] distillation of the times", especially in London,<ref name="RCStaunton" /> and ten years later, Nick Hasted named it the "template" for the transition from punk to new wave.<ref name="RCHasted" /> Regarding the album's position in the new wave genre, punknews.org's Julie River described ''This Year's Model'' as one of the first and strongest new wave albums, ultimately standing as one of Costello's finest albums.<ref name="punknews.org">{{cite web |last=River |first=Julie |title=Elvis Costello and the Attractions – ''This Year's Model'' |url=https://www.punknews.org/review/15855/elvis-costello-and-the-attractions-this-years-model |website=Punk News |access-date=21 August 2022 |date=2 June 2018 |archive-date=22 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022013402/https://www.punknews.org/review/15855/elvis-costello-and-the-attractions-this-years-model |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]'' magazine's Andy Whitman went further, describing the album as "the moment when New Wave found its frontman".<ref name="WhitmanPaste">{{cite web |last=Whitman |first=Andy |title=Elvis Costello: ''This Year's Model'' (Deluxe Edition) |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/elvis-costello/this-years-model-deluxe-edition/ |website=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]] |access-date=21 August 2022 |date=3 March 2008 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414042538/https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/elvis-costello/this-years-model-deluxe-edition/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Both River and Whitman agreed the album has aged well.<ref name="punknews.org" /><ref name="WhitmanPaste" />

Thomson described the songs as "tight and instantly memorable", and mentioned Costello's improved songwriting and the Attractions' performances.{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 5}} Hinton considers it "light years ahead" of its predecessor, creating a "paranoid universe, where everyone is being watched."{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}} St. Michael similarly writes that the record "provokes and invokes" the listener as much as it entertains.{{sfn|St. Michael|1986|loc=chap. 3}} In ''The Words & Music of Elvis Costello'', Perone calls ''This Year's Model'' one of the "strongest sophomore efforts of any singer-songwriter", arguing that it affirmed the seeds that outlined on ''My Aim Is True'' that predicted the artist's future projects. The author also comments that it debuted one of the strongest four-piece rock bands of the era.{{sfn|Perone|2015|pp=16–25}}

[[Black Francis]] of [[Pixies (band)|Pixies]] named the album as a favorite, recalling, "The [album] I listened to the most [at college], though, was ''This Year's Model''. ... Instead of studying I'd go in [my room] and listen to Elvis Costello over and over until my ears hurt and my head couldn't take it anymore".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fox |first=Killian |date=2014-06-28 |title=Black Francis: soundtrack of my life |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jun/29/black-francis-soundtrack-of-my-life-pixies |access-date=2024-02-15 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

===Rankings===
''This Year's Model'' often appears on lists of the greatest albums of all time. In 2000 ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'' placed it at number 82 on its list of the "100 Greatest British Albums Ever".<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The 100 Greatest British Albums Ever! – Elvis Costello: ''This Year's Model'' |magazine=Q |issue=165 |date=June 2000 |page=62}}</ref> In 1987, ''Rolling Stone'' placed the album at number 11 on its list of the best of the past 20 years, and said that Costello charted "the modern romantic terrain with keen cynicism, caustic wit and furious energy."<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Best Albums of The Last 20 Years – 11. ''This Year's Model'' |magazine=Rolling Stone |issue=507 |date=27 August 1987 |page=72}}</ref> The same magazine ranked the album number 98 in its list of [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]] in 2003,<ref>{{cite book |chapter=98 &#124; ''This Year's Model'' – Elvis Costello |chapter-url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/this-years-model-elvis-costello-19691231 |access-date=12 April 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060316133449/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6598183/98_this_years_model/ |archive-date=16 March 2006 |url-status=dead |title=Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time |title-link=Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time |editor-last=Levy |editor-first=Joe |publisher=Turnaround |location=London |edition=3rd |year=2006 |orig-year=2005 |isbn=978-1-932958-61-4 |oclc=70672814}}</ref> maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list,<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/elvis-costello-this-years-model-173024/ |title=The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=31 May 2012 |access-date=19 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190628015239/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/elvis-costello-this-years-model-173024/ |archive-date=28 June 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> and dropping to number 121 in a 2020 revised list.<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=22 September 2020|title=The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/|access-date=4 October 2021|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US|archive-date=22 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922163403/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/|url-status=live}}</ref> In lists compiling the 100 greatest albums of all time, ''Mojo'', ''NME'' and ''Spin'' ranked ''This Year's Model'' at numbers 69, 40 and 8 in 1995, 1985 and 1989, respectively.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made |magazine=Mojo |date=August 1995 |issue=21 |pages=50–88}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Top 100 |magazine=NME |date=30 November 1985 |page=12}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=The 25 Greatest Albums of All Time – No. 8: Elvis Costello and the Attractions: ''This Year's Model'' |magazine=Spin |date=April 1989 |page=47}}</ref> ''NME'' listed it at number 256 in their 2013 list of [[NME's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Barker |first=Emily |url=https://www.nme.com/photos/the-500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-300-201-1426482 |title=The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time: 300–201 |magazine=NME |date=24 October 2013 |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=5 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405220011/https://www.nme.com/photos/the-500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-300-201-1426482 |url-status=live }}</ref> In a 2018 issue selecting 70 landmark albums of the past 70 years, ''Record Collector'' chose ''This Year's Model'' as their pick for 1978.<ref name="RCHasted">{{cite magazine |last=Hasted |first=Nick |title=The 70 Landmark Albums of the Last 70 years – Elvis Costello: ''This Year's Model'' |magazine=[[Record Collector]] |issue=487 |date=December 2018 |page=83}}</ref> In 2004, ''Pitchfork''{{'s}} Sam Ubl ranked it the 52nd best album of the 1970s, calling it "one of [Costello's] most deceptive rock records",<ref>{{cite web |last=Ubl |first=Sam |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/5932-top-100-albums-of-the-1970s/?page=5 |title=The 100 Best Albums of the 1970s |website=Pitchfork |date=23 June 2004 |access-date=10 March 2022 |page=5 |archive-date=2 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302092927/https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/5932-top-100-albums-of-the-1970s/?page=5 |url-status=live }}</ref> and in 2012, ''Paste'' placed it at number 35 in a similar list.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/1970s/best-albums-of-the-1970s/ |title=The 70 Best Albums of the 1970s |magazine=Paste |date=7 January 2020 |access-date=23 February 2022  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211130126/https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/1970s/best-albums-of-the-1970s/ |archive-date=11 December 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' also included it in their list of the 100 best rock albums from the decade.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/70s-rock-albums/ |title=Top 100 '70s Rock Albums |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |date=5 March 2015 |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=16 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116164140/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/70s-rock-albums/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Paste'' magazine also ranked it the 19th greatest new wave album in 2016.<ref name="PasteBestof" /> The album was included in the 2018 edition of Robert Dimery's book ''[[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die]]''.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Robert |last1=Dimery |first2=Michael |last2=Lydon |title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die |edition=Revised and Updated |date=2018 |location=London |publisher=[[Cassell (publisher)|Cassell]] |isbn=978-1-78840-080-0}}</ref>

==Reissues==
{{Album ratings
| subtitle = 2008 reissue
| rev1 = ''Pitchfork''
| rev1score = 7.0/10<ref name="Pitchfork reissue">{{cite web |last=LeMay |first=Matt |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11276-this-years-model-deluxe-edition/ |title=Elvis Costello: ''This Year's Model: Deluxe Edition'' Album Review |website=Pitchfork |date=18 March 2008 |access-date=4 March 2022 |archive-date=15 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215002209/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11276-this-years-model-deluxe-edition/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Record Collector]]''
| rev2score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref name="RCStaunton">{{cite magazine |last=Staunton |first=Terry |title=''This Year's Model'': Elvis Costello & the Attractions |magazine=Record Collector |issue=349 |date=May 2008 |page=}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev3score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="RS 2008">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/elviscostello/albums/album/18704849/review/18722067/this_years_model_deluxe_edition_2008 |title=Elvis Costello: ''This Year's Model (Deluxe Edition 2008)'' |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=6 March 2008 |access-date=20 September 2015 |last=Sheffield |first=Rob |author-link=Rob Sheffield |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090808171845/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/elviscostello/albums/album/18704849/review/18722067/this_years_model_deluxe_edition_2008 |archive-date=8 August 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
}}
''This Year's Model'' was first released on [[Compact disc|CD]] through Columbia and [[Demon Records]] in January{{nbsp}}1986.{{sfn|Hinton|1999|p=434}} Its first extended reissue came in October{{nbsp}}1993 through Demon in the UK and [[Rykodisc]] in the US, which added the bonus tracks "Radio Radio", "Crawling to the U.S.A.", "Running Out of Angels", "Greenshirt" and "Big Boys".{{sfn|Hinton|1999|p=434}}<ref name="1993 liner notes" /> The 2002 CD reissue by [[Rhino Entertainment]] added more tracks on top of the 1993 additions; with this release, "Radio Radio" was sequenced as the album closer after "Night Rally".<ref name="2002 liner notes" /><ref name="Uncut Roberts" /><ref name="Mojo 2002" /> Troper argues that the addition changes the record's tone immensely, stating that as "Radio Radio" is more upbeat, it brings the album to a proper conclusion compared to the disturbing imagery and abrupt ending of "Night Rally".<ref name="Troper PM" />

In 2008, it was reissued again by [[Universal Music Group|Universal]]/[[Hip-O Records]] as a deluxe edition, featuring most of the same tracks as the Rhino reissue, with the addition of a 13-track live bonus disc taken from a show at the [[Warner Theatre (Washington, D.C.)|Warner Theater]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], on 28{{nbsp}}February 1978.<ref name="RS 2008" /><ref name="Pitchfork reissue" /><ref name="AllMusic reisssue">{{cite web |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/spanish-model-mw0003565369 |title=''This Year's Model [Deluxe Edition]'' – Elvis Costello |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=4 March 2022 |archive-date=18 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118164812/https://www.allmusic.com/album/spanish-model-mw0003565369 |url-status=live }}</ref> For its 2021 remaster by [[Universal Music Enterprises|UM<sup>e</sup>]], "Big Tears" was added before "Radio Radio" on the standard album, bringing the total track count to 14.<ref name="2021remaster">{{cite web |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/this-years-model-mr0005459625 |title=''This Year's Model'' – Elvis Costello (CD – UMe #003394102) |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=25 September 2022 |archive-date=3 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203050707/https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/this-years-model-mr0005459625 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Track listing==
All songs are written by [[Elvis Costello]].<ref name="1978 liner notes" />

'''Side one'''
# "No Action"&nbsp;– 1:57
# "[[This Year's Girl (song)|This Year's Girl]]"&nbsp;– 3:16
# "The Beat"&nbsp;– 3:42
# "[[Pump It Up (Elvis Costello song)|Pump It Up]]"&nbsp;– 3:12
# "Little Triggers"&nbsp;– 2:38
# "You Belong to Me"&nbsp;– 2:19

'''Side two'''
# "Hand in Hand"&nbsp;– 2:30
# "[[(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea]]"&nbsp;– 3:06
# "Lip Service"&nbsp;– 2:34
# "Living in Paradise"&nbsp;– 3:51
# "[[Lipstick Vogue]]"&nbsp;– 3:29
# "Night Rally"&nbsp;– 2:40

'''Notes'''
*The US release dropped "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" and "Night Rally" and added "[[Radio Radio]]" to close side two.{{sfn|Hinton|1999|p=434}} The 2002 Rhino reissue added "Radio Radio" after "Night Rally" as the album closer,<ref name="2002 liner notes" /><ref name="Troper PM" /><ref name="Pitchfork" /> and the 2021 remaster added "Big Tears" before "Radio Radio".<ref name="2021remaster" />

==Personnel==
According to the liner notes of the 2002 reissue:<ref name="2002 liner notes" />
*[[Elvis Costello]]&nbsp;– guitar, vocals
*[[Steve Nieve]]&nbsp;– keyboards
*[[Bruce Thomas (musician)|Bruce Thomas]]&nbsp;– bass
*[[Pete Thomas (drummer)|Pete Thomas]]&nbsp;– drums
with:
*[[Mick Jones (The Clash guitarist)|Mick Jones]]&nbsp;– lead guitar on "Big Tears"

'''Technical'''
*[[Nick Lowe]]&nbsp;– producer, [[Audio mixing (recorded music)|mixer]]
*[[Roger Béchirian]]&nbsp;– [[Audio engineer|engineer]]

==Charts and certifications==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+Weekly charts for ''This Year's Model''
! scope="col"|Chart (1978–79)
! scope="col"|Peak<br/>Position
|-
!scope="row"|Australian Albums ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref name="auchart">{{cite book|title=[[Kent Music Report|Australian Chart Book 1970–1992]]|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=[[St Ives, New South Wales|St Ives]], N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=978-0-646-11917-5}}</ref>
|align="center"|26
|-
!scope="row"|Canadian Albums (''[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]'')<ref name="CANchart">{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.4587a&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=mhe12pta2k83e08udtq66ot062 |title=Top Albums/CDs – Volume 29, No. 10, June 03 1978 |website=[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140114234541/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.4587a&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=mhe12pta2k83e08udtq66ot062 |archive-date=14 January 2014 |access-date=24 October 2011}}</ref>
|align="center"|21
|-
!scope="row"|Dutch Albums ([[MegaCharts]])<ref name="nlchart">{{cite web|title=Elvis Costello – 'This Year's Model'|publisher=[[MegaCharts]]|url=http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Elvis+Costello&titel=This+Year's+Model&cat=a|language=nl|format=ASP|access-date=23 October 2011|archive-date=14 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314195411/http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Elvis+Costello&titel=This+Year%27s+Model&cat=a|url-status=live}}</ref>
|align="center"|14
|-
!scope="row"|New Zealand Albums ([[RIANZ]])<ref name="nzchart">{{cite web|title=Elvis Costello – This Year's Model|publisher=[[Recording Industry Association of New Zealand]]|url=https://charts.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Elvis+Costello&titel=This+Year's+Model&cat=a|format=ASP|access-date=23 October 2011|archive-date=15 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200315193334/https://charts.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Elvis+Costello&titel=This+Year%27s+Model&cat=a|url-status=live}}</ref>
|align="center"|11
|-
!scope="row"|Norwegian Albums ([[VG-lista]])<ref name="norcharts">{{cite web|title=Elvis Costello – 'This Year's Model'|publisher=VG-lista|url=http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Elvis+Costello&titel=This+Year's+Model&cat=a|format=ASP|access-date =18 September 2011|archive-date=5 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140305010641/http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Elvis+Costello&titel=This+Year%27s+Model&cat=a| url-status=live}}</ref>
|align="center"|15
|-
!scope="row"|Swedish Albums ([[Sverigetopplistan]])<ref name="sechart">{{cite web|title=Elvis Costello – 'This Year's Model'|publisher=[[Sverigetopplistan]]|url=http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Elvis+Costello&titel=This+Year's+Model&cat=a|language=sv|format=ASP|access-date=18 September 2011|archive-date=11 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111180810/http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Elvis+Costello&titel=This+Year%27s+Model&cat=a|url-status=live}}</ref>
|align="center"|10
|-
!scope="row"|[[UK Albums Chart]]<ref name="UKchart">{{cite web| url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/albums/This%20Year%27s%20Model| title=Elvis Costello – This Year's Model| publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]| access-date=23 October 2011| archive-date=5 April 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405131443/http://www.officialcharts.com/search/albums/THIS%20YEAR'S%20MODEL/| url-status=live}}</ref>
|align="center"|4
|-
!scope="row"|US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' Top LPs & Tape]]<ref name="US chart">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/elvis-costello/chart-history/tlp/ |title=Elvis Costello Chart History |magazine=Billboard |access-date=23 March 2022 |archive-date=17 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117182734/https://www.billboard.com/artist/elvis-costello/chart-history/tlp/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|align="center"|30
|-
!scope="row"|US ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]'' Top 100 Albums<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Top 100 Albums|magazine=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]|date=3 June 1978|page=57|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1978/CB-1978-06-03.pdf|access-date=5 July 2022|via=worldradiohistory.com|archive-date=21 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220821212337/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1978/CB-1978-06-03.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
|align="center"|43
|-
!scope="row"|US ''[[Record World]]'' Album Chart<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Record World Album Chart|magazine=[[Record World]]|date=3 June 1978|page=54|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/78/RW-1978-06-03.pdf|access-date=5 July 2022|via=worldradiohistory.com|archive-date=21 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220821212327/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/78/RW-1978-06-03.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
|align="center"|44
|}
{{col-2}}

===Certifications===
{{certification Table Top|caption=Sales certifications for ''This Year's Model''}}
{{certification Table Entry|title=This Year's Model|artist=Elvis Costello|type=album|relyear=1978|region=Canada|award=Gold}}
{{certification Table Entry|title=This Year's Model|artist=Elvis Costello|type=album|relyear=1978|region=United Kingdom|award=Gold|id=7578-190-2}}
{{certification Table Entry|title=This Year's Model|artist=Elvis Costello|type=album|relyear=1978|region=United States|award=Gold}}
{{certification Table Bottom|nosales=yes}}
{{col-end}}

==''Spanish Model''==
{{Infobox album
| name         = Spanish Model
| type         = remix
| artist       = [[Elvis Costello]] and [[the Attractions]]
| cover        = Elvis Costello Spanish Model.jpg
| border       = yes
| alt          = A younger man wearing glasses behind a camera with the words "ElvisI" and "Spanish Model"
| caption      = 
| released     = {{start date|2021|09|10|df=yes}}
| recorded     = 
| studio       = 
| genre        = [[Pop music|Pop]]<ref name="AllMusic SM" />
| length       = {{duration|m=59|s=05}}
| language     = Spanish
| label        = [[Universal Music Enterprises|UM<sup>e</sup>]]
| producer     = * Elvis Costello
* [[Sebastian Krys]]
| chronology   = [[Elvis Costello]]
| prev_title   = [[Hey Clockface]]
| prev_year    = 2020
| next_title   = [[The Boy Named If]]
| next_year    = 2022
| misc         = {{Singles
 | name        = Spanish Model
 | type        = remix
 | single1     = Pump It Up
 | single1date = 15 July 2021
}}
}}

In 2018, Costello collaborated with singer [[Natalie Bergman]] for a new version of "This Year's Girl" for the second season of the American television series ''[[The Deuce (TV series)|The Deuce]]''. For this version, Costello and his frequent collaborator, producer [[Sebastian Krys]], added new vocals from Bergman alongside Costello's originals. The project led Costello to conceive a reimagining of ''This Year's Model'' entirely in Spanish.<ref name="Lopez1">{{cite magazine |last=Lopez |first=Julyssa |title=Elvis Costello on Why He Remade 'This Year's Model' Entirely in Spanish |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-latin/elvis-costello-this-years-model-spanish-1197730/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=1 March 2022 |date=15 July 2021 |archive-date=23 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123153909/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-latin/elvis-costello-this-years-model-spanish-1197730/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The project, titled ''Spanish Model'', features 16 songs from the ''This Year's Model'' period sung by an array of Latin artists, including [[Juanes]], [[Jorge Drexler]], [[Luis Fonsi]], [[Francisca Valenzuela]], [[Fuego (singer)|Fuego]], [[Draco Rosa]] and [[Fito Páez]], replacing Costello's original vocals but retaining Costello and the Attractions' original backing instrumentation.{{efn|Some of Costello's original vocals were retained for a couple of tracks, including "Pump It Up" and "Radio Radio".<ref name="PM SM" /><ref name="UtR SM" />}}<ref name="Lopez1" /><ref name="Variety" />

In a 2021 interview with ''Mojo'', Costello said that he had three requirements for the project: he wanted a lesser-known line-up, each singer would translate his or her own song and the Attractions' original backing tracks would be used. He was insistent on the quality of the band's performances: "Take my voice out of it and the playing from Pete, Bruce and Steve is sensational."<ref name="MojoSpanishModel">{{cite magazine |last=Simmons |first=Sylvie |title=Elvis Costello reimagines 'This Year's Model' — in Spanish! |magazine=Mojo |date=September 2021 |issue=334 |page=14}}</ref> As a non-Spanish speaker, Costello and Krys worked with songwriters [[Elsten Torres]], Ximena Muñoz, Luis Mitre and Andie Sandoval to translate the lyrics.<ref name="Lopez1" /><ref name="Variety">{{cite web |last=Willman |first=Chris |title=Elvis Costello on the Endurance of 'This Year's Model,' and What's Gained in Translation With New 'Spanish Model' |url=https://variety.com/2021/music/news/elvis-costello-spanish-model-interview-this-years-latin-1235066119/ |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |access-date=1 March 2022 |date=16 September 2021 |archive-date=12 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212200749/https://variety.com/2021/music/news/elvis-costello-spanish-model-interview-this-years-latin-1235066119/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Costello told ''Rolling Stone'':<ref name="Lopez1" />

{{blockquote|The thing with the translation, and we've discovered a lot over the record, [is that] the Spanish adaptation makes the melodies sound a little different, because the sound elements are different. I sing with a lot of, shall we say, attitude, particularly then. With songs like 'Hand in Hand' and 'Living in Paradise', I didn't realise these songs had melody — I thought it was just me sneering. I didn't realise they had tunes until I heard them sung by more melodious singers in another language.}}

The lyrics themselves are not literal translations. The first track completed was Cami's reinterpretation of "This Year's Girl" titled "La Chica de Hoy", which literally means "the girl of today". Costello explained that it has the same ideas as the original track, but Cami introduced reflections from her own career.<ref name="uD SM">{{cite web |last=Milano |first=Brett |title=Elvis Costello On Reimagining His Landmark 1978 Album Into The New 'Spanish Model' |url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/elvis-costello-spanish-model-interview/ |website=uDiscoverMusic |access-date=10 March 2022 |date=28 September 2021 |archive-date=24 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224000701/https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/elvis-costello-spanish-model-interview/ |url-status=live }}</ref> "Radio Radio" was given "the most radical change" due to the track's now-outdated themes.<ref name="Lopez2" /> "Night Rally" and "Chelsea" were also given changes to instead reflect the rise of Spanish [[fascism]] and the updated location of [[Miami]], respectively.<ref name="uD SM" /> Krys originally intended to mimic Lowe and Béchirian's original mix, but decided it worked better when he mixed the backing tracks around the new vocals.<ref name="uD SM" />

Many of the Latin performers connected with the music on the original album. La Marisoul, a huge fan of Costello's, felt honoured to sing "Little Triggers", now titled "Detonantes". The artist approached the track by saying "Okay, I'm gonna live in these lyrics".<ref name="Lopez2">{{cite magazine |last=Lopez |first=Julyssa |title=Five Artists on What It's Like to Sing Elvis Costello's Songs in Spanish |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-latin/elvis-costello-spanish-model-collaborators-1223074/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=1 March 2022 |date=10 September 2021 |archive-date=28 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028013205/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-latin/elvis-costello-spanish-model-collaborators-1223074/ |url-status=live }}</ref> For "Radio Radio", Fito Páez amended it to the current era where he presented himself "like this old dinosaur who goes back to his little radio to listen to Elvis Costello".<ref name="Lopez2" /> Juanes, who recalled watching the music video for "Pump It Up" on [[MTV]], offered a Spanish take on the lyric's events for his version of the song. Francisca Valenzuela, who sang "Hand In Hand" with Luis Humberto Navejas, cited ''This Year's Model'' and ''[[Imperial Bedroom]]'' (1982) as her favourite records by Costello and was delighted when she was approached for the project, stating: "I think it reflects something we're all interested in, which is the multiculturalism and syncretism of music."<ref name="Lopez2" /> Draco Rosa was thrilled at the opportunity to provide a new and natural take on "The Beat", titled "Yo Te Vi".<ref name="Lopez2" />

Preceded by the release of Juanes's "Pump It Up" on 15{{nbsp}}July 2021,<ref name="BB Spanish Model" /> '''''Spanish Model''''' was issued on 10{{nbsp}}September through record label UM<sup>e</sup> and was packaged with the 2021 remaster of the original album.<ref name="UtR SM" /><ref name="NME Spanish Model">{{cite web |last=Richards |first=Will |title=Elvis Costello announces Spanish reimagining of 1978 album 'This Year's Model' |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/elvis-costello-announces-spanish-reimagining-of-1978-album-this-years-model-2996135 |website=[[NME]] |access-date=1 March 2022 |date=18 July 2021 |archive-date=31 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031094403/https://www.nme.com/news/music/elvis-costello-announces-spanish-reimagining-of-1978-album-this-years-model-2996135 |url-status=live }}</ref> Costello said in a statement: "Part of the fun of this project is its unexpected nature. Although, I think people in my audience that have been paying attention are pretty much used to surprises by now."<ref name="BB Spanish Model">{{cite magazine |title=Elvis Costello Preps Spanish Version of 'This Year's Model' With Special Guests |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/elvis-costello-spanish-version-this-years-model-special-guests-9601938/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=1 March 2022 |date=16 July 2021 |archive-date=2 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302024750/https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/elvis-costello-spanish-version-this-years-model-special-guests-9601938/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Speaking to ''Mojo'', he stated that the Attractions, Lowe and Béchirian all responded positively to ''Spanish Model''.<ref name="MojoSpanishModel" />

''Spanish Model'' earned Costello and the Attractions their first top-ten entry on a ''Billboard'' Latin chart, reaching number six on [[Latin Pop Albums]].<ref name="BillboardSpanishModel" /> It also charted at number 50 on the [[Top Album Sales]], number 32 on the [[Top Current Album Sales]] and number 38 on the [[Billboard Top Latin Albums|''Billboard'' Top Latin Albums]].<ref name="BillboardSpanishModel" /><ref name="USLatinchart" /> The album debuted to 2,000 [[album-equivalent unit]]s in the US the week of 16&nbsp;September 2021.<ref name="BillboardSpanishModel" />

===Critical reception===
{{Album ratings
|MC = 75/100<ref name="MC SM">{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/spanish-model/elvis-costello-the-attractions |title=Reviews for ''Spanish Model'' by Elvis Costello & the Attractions |publisher=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=10 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220310214353/https://www.metacritic.com/music/spanish-model/elvis-costello-the-attractions |url-status=live }}</ref>
|rev1 = AllMusic
|rev1score = {{rating|3.5|5}}<ref name="AllMusic SM">{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/spanish-model-mw0003565369 |title=''Spanish Model'' – Elvis Costello |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=4 March 2022 |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |archive-date=18 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118164812/https://www.allmusic.com/album/spanish-model-mw0003565369 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|rev2 = ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]''
|rev2score = {{rating|3|5}}<ref name="MojoSpanishModelreview">{{cite magazine |last=Aizlewood |first=John |title=Elvis Costello: 'Spanish Model' Review |magazine=Mojo |date=November 2021 |issue=336 |page=87}}</ref>
|rev3 = ''[[PopMatters]]''
|rev3score = 7/10<ref name="PM SM">{{cite web |last=Lipp |first=Marty |title=Elvis Costello Remakes His Classic 'This Year's Model' in Spanish |url=https://www.popmatters.com/elvis-costello-spanish-model-review |website=PopMatters |access-date=10 March 2022 |date=14 September 2021 |archive-date=16 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916025223/https://www.popmatters.com/elvis-costello-spanish-model-review |url-status=live }}</ref>
|rev4 = ''[[Under the Radar (magazine)|Under the Radar]]''
|rev4score = 7.5/10<ref name="UtR SM">{{cite web |last=Berlyant |first=Matthew |title=Elvis Costello & the Attractions: Spanish Model (UMe) – review |url=https://www.undertheradarmag.com/reviews/spanish_model_elvis_costello |website=[[Under the Radar (magazine)|Under the Radar]] |access-date=10 March 2022 |date=12 October 2021 |archive-date=19 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119152841/https://www.undertheradarmag.com/reviews/spanish_model_elvis_costello |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}
''Spanish Model'' has been favourably reviewed by music critics.<ref name="MC SM" /> Erlewine commended the new vocals, stating that the Latin singers retain the "barbed humour" and "spiky politics" of the original album.<ref name="AllMusic SM" /> He believes the new songs improved the project overall and expand the "musical and emotional palette", creating an album that was "not as a curiosity but rather a small wonder, revealing new dimensions of the original recording while opening up these songs for new audiences".<ref name="AllMusic SM" /> ''Mojo''{{'s}} John Aizlewood found the project unnecessary but refreshing.<ref name="MojoSpanishModelreview" />

In ''PopMatters'', Marty Lipp cited the project as a complete display of the Attractions' strength as a band and recognised how many of the Latin singers on the project were female, which represented a "striking reversal" of the "she done me wrong" mentality that pervaded a majority of Costello's early work.<ref name="PM SM" /> He felt that the absence of Costello's "brilliantly cynical wordplay" did the album more harm than good, particularly on "Pump It Up", but considered the project "still as exciting and fun as ever" and commended Costello for continuing to surprise his fans.<ref name="PM SM" /> Matthew Berlyant in ''[[Under the Radar (magazine)|Under the Radar]]'' magazine called the project unique and praised Costello for taking a major left turn almost 45 years into his career.<ref name="UtR SM" /> He highlighted the rearranged track listing and additions to the original record as making the project stand on its own, concluding that Costello succeeded in both bringing attention to the original album and the Spanish-speaking artists that enveloped ''Spanish Model''.<ref name="UtR SM" />

===Track listing===
Track information adapted from [[Spotify]]:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://open.spotify.com/album/3OOmJPU7S7RY4R0XKmaay9|title=''Spanish Model'' – Elvis Costello & the Attractions|year=2021|publisher=[[Spotify]]|access-date=18 March 2022|archive-date=13 October 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20221013000208/https://open.spotify.com/album/3OOmJPU7S7RY4R0XKmaay9|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{Track listing
| headline = ''Spanish Model'' track listing
| extra_column = Performer
| title1 = No Action
| length1 = 2:12
| extra1 = Nina Diaz
| title2 = (Yo No Quiero Ir A) Chelsea" ("(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea")
| length2 = 3:39
| extra2 = [[Raquel Sofía]] and [[Fuego (singer)|Fuego]]
| title3 = Yo Te Vi" ("The Beat")
| length3 = 3:47
| extra3 = [[Draco Rosa]]
| title4 = Pump It Up
| length4 = 3:28
| extra4 = [[Juanes]]
| title5 = Detonantes" ("Little Triggers")
| length5 = 2:42
| extra5 = [[La Santa Cecilia|La Marisoul]]
| title6 = Tu Eres Para Mi" ("You Belong to Me")
| length6 = 2:50
| extra6 = [[Luis Fonsi]]
| title7 = "Hand in Hand"
| length7 = 2:34
| extra7 = [[Francisca Valenzuela]] and Luis Humberto Navejas
| title8 = La Chica de Hoy" ("This Year's Girl")
| length8 = 3:29
| extra8 = Cami
| title9 = Mentira" ("Lip Service")
| length9 = 2:38
| extra9 = [[Pablo López (singer)|Pablo López]]
| title10 = Viviendo en el Paraiso" ("Living in Paradise")
| length10 = 3:59
| extra10 = [[Jesse & Joy]]
| title11 = Lipstick Vogue
| length11 = 3:32
| extra11 = [[Morat (band)|Morat]]
| title12 = La Turba" ("Night Rally")
| length12 = 2:42
| extra12 = [[Jorge Drexler]]
| title13 = Llorar" ("Big Tears")
| length13 = 3:10
| extra13 = [[Sebastián Yatra]]
| title14 = Radio Radio
| length14 = 3:09
| extra14 = [[Fito Páez]]
| title15 = Crawling to the U.S.A.
| length15 = 2:47
| extra15 = [[Gian Marco]] and Nicole Zignago
| title16 = Se Esta Perdiendo La Inocencia" ("Running Out of Angels")
| length16 = 2:08
| extra16 = [[Vega (singer)|Vega]]
| title17 = (I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea [Dub Mix]
| length17 = 3:33
| extra17 = Fuego and Raquel Sofía
| title18 = Pump It Up [Duet Mix]
| length18 = 3:14
| extra18 = Juanes
| title19 = Pump It Up [Brutal Mix]
| length19 = 3:22
| extra19 = Elvis Costello and the Attractions
| total_length = 59:05
}}

===Charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+Weekly charts for ''Spanish Model''
! scope="col"|Chart (2021)
! scope="col"|Peak<br/>Position
|-
!scope="row"|US [[Latin Pop Albums]] (''Billboard'')<ref name="BillboardSpanishModel">{{cite magazine |last=Bustios |first=Pamela |title=Elvis Costello & The Attractions Score First Entry on a Billboard Latin Albums Chart With 'Spanish Model' |url=https://www.billboard.com/pro/elvis-costello-the-attractions-latin-albums-chart-spanish-model/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=21 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519163622/https://www.billboard.com/pro/elvis-costello-the-attractions-latin-albums-chart-spanish-model/ |archive-date=19 May 2022 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription}}</ref>
|align="center"|6
|-
!scope="row"|US [[Top Album Sales]] (''Billboard'')<ref name="BillboardSpanishModel" />
|align="center"|50
|-
!scope="row"|US [[Top Current Album Sales]] (''Billboard'')<ref name="BillboardSpanishModel" />
|align="center"|32
|-
!scope="row"|US [[Billboard Top Latin Albums|Top Latin Albums]] (''Billboard'')<ref name="USLatinchart">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/elvis-costello/chart-history/lcm/ |title=Elvis Costello Chart History |magazine=Billboard |access-date=21 August 2022}}</ref>
|align="center"|38
|}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
{{Refbegin|30em}}
*{{cite book |first1=Joe |last1=Bonomo |first2=Greil |last2=Marcus |first3=Peggy |last3=Whitman Prenshaw |title=Conversations with Greil Marcus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9egaBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA85 |series=Literary Conversations |date=1 October 2012 |location=[[Jackson, Mississippi]] |publisher=[[University Press of Mississippi]] |isbn=978-1-61703-622-4}}
*{{cite book |first=John M. |last=Borack |title=Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pqtGTJgE4rEC&pg=PA190 |year=2007 |publisher=Not Lame Recording Company |location=[[Fort Collins, Colorado]] |isbn=978-0-9797714-0-8}}
*{{cite book |last=Clayton-Lea |first=Tony |year=1999 |title=Elvis Costello: A Biography |location=London |publisher=[[André Deutsch|André Deutsch Ltd]] |isbn=978-0-233-99339-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/elviscostellobio0000clay/| url-access=registration}}
*{{cite book |last=Costello |first=Elvis | author-link=Elvis Costello |year=2015 |title=Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink |location=London |publisher=[[Viking Press|Viking Books]] |isbn=978-0-241-00346-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/unfaithfulmusicd0000cost_x8e0/ | url-access=registration}}
*{{cite book |last=Gouldstone |first=David |year=1989 |title=Elvis Costello: God's Comic |location=New York City |publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]] |isbn=978-0-312-04309-4}}
*{{cite book |last=Hinton |first=Brian |year=1999 |title=Let Them All Talk: The Music of Elvis Costello |location=London |publisher=Sanctuary Publishing Ltd |isbn=978-1-86074-196-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/letthemalltalk00bria| url-access=registration}}
*{{cite book |last=Parkyn |first=Geoff |year=1984 |title=Elvis Costello: The Illustrated Disco/Biography |location=London |publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=0-7119-0531-2}}
*{{cite book |last=Perone |first=James E. |year=2015 |title=The Words and Music of Elvis Costello |location=Santa Barbara, California |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |isbn=978-1-4408-3215-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PkbyCAAAQBAJ}}
*{{cite book |last=St. Michael |first=Mick |year=1986 |title=Elvis Costello: An Illustrated Biography |location=London |publisher=[[Omnibus Press]] |isbn=978-0-7119-0772-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/elviscostelloill0000stmi| url-access=registration}}
*{{cite book |last=Thomson |first=Graeme |year=2004 |title=Complicated Shadows: The Life and Music of Elvis Costello |location=Edinburgh |publisher=[[Canongate Books]] |isbn=978-1-84195-796-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Wyman|first=Bill|title=Spin Alternative Record Guide|editor1-last=Weisbard|editor1-first=Eric|editor1-link=Eric Weisbard|editor2-last=Marks|editor2-first=Craig|publisher=[[Vintage Books]]|location=New York City|year=1995|isbn=0-679-75574-8|chapter=Elvis Costello|pages=92–94|url=https://archive.org/details/spinalternativer00weis|url-access=registration}}
{{refend|30em}}

==External links==
* {{Discogs master|type=album|455505|name=This Year's Model}}

{{Elvis Costello}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1978 albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Nick Lowe]]
[[Category:Elvis Costello albums]]
[[Category:Columbia Records albums]]
[[Category:F-Beat Records albums]]
[[Category:Garage rock albums by English artists]]
[[Category:Hip-O Records albums]]
[[Category:Radar Records albums]]
[[Category:Rhino Entertainment albums]]
[[Category:Rykodisc albums]]
[[Category:Universal Music Enterprises albums]]