Costello delivers bipolar ride

With the inevitability of maturity, Elvis Costello has morphed from the quirky, pigeon-toed nerd of punk on My Aim Is True into its seasoned grandfather. Usually his music comes off as an explosion of built-up aggression, but that's where The Delivery Man falls flat. Instead, Elvis delivers a winding road of emotion and sincerity. \n"Button My Lip" starts it off with loose garage energy and ambiance, only to an immediate, mellow response by the second track "Country Darkness." This repeating mood swing makes the album an awkward listen as a whole. Punchy one minute, serious and desperate the next, the record is a bipolar rollercoaster coming to a smooth stop with "The Scarlet Tide" -- an acoustic duet with Emmylou Harris.\nDelivery Man is self-descriptive: "In a certain light, he looked like Elvis. In a certain way, he seemed like Jesus." Just as one is an idol of pop culture, one an idol of faith -- similarly exalted, yet of two different worlds -- Elvis' musical flip-flop doesn't ruin the record. It shows us the two sides of one of America's best songwriters as he borrows from its music tradition and style while delivering yet another solid performance.