Momofuku

Soul ballad 'Flutter & Wow' might be the best of his rare love songs, and harmonies from Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis add elegance to this garagey mix. [23 May 2008, p.122]

As it makes these digressions seem funny, not fussy, and that's ultimately the charm of Momofuku: it's captures a loose, natural Elvis Costello, somebody that hasn't been captured on record in years. It's still a Costello that plugs Lexus, writes operas and plays jazz festivals, but here he's not trying to prove anything, he's just making music and that's why it's one of his most enjoyable latter-day records.

Costello gives us Momofuku, titled in tribute to the inventor of the Cup Noodle, and this collection goes down as easy and tasty as its namesake's ingenious snack.

It's not a ballet or a string quartet, but Costello sounding more "Attractions"-like than he has in over 20 years. [Oct 2008, p.83]

Some of the songs toward the end seem downright slight ("My Three Sons," "Song With Rose," "Go Away"), but in all it's a rewarding, rambunctious ride.

It would be a stretch to call anything on Momofuku great, but it's the breeziest, most immediate record he's made in years.

Momofuku has glorious fragments and plenty of passion.

Among his sharpest sets in years, Momofuku was first released on double-disc vinyl.

Momofuku is the kind of more-than-solid effort that reaffirms a great artists’ relevance, but doesn’t quite prove it all over again.

Where other reborn acts seem to revel in the sheer formal reconstruction and forget songwriting entirely, Costello gets it backwards and winds up with a listenable record as a result.

Like some of his best work, Momofuku feels thrown together, loose and natural.