track as sounding like "Costello's take on mainstream late-'70s/early-'80s AOR." He also stated that the vocal melody would later be imitated by artists such as Van Morrison and 10cc on their more radio-friendly tracks. The narrator of "Pretty Words" struggles to communicate with his partner, which is put into a social context and used as an attack on tabloid media. With the realisation that "pretty words don't mean much anymore", the songs acts as a metaphor for society's lack of common decency; the use of "pretty words" to ease evil acts such as genocide does nothing to diminish the evil of the act itself. Gouldstone elaborates that all tabloid papers do little to spread real events, instead trivialising the news with meaningless gossip. Musically, the song is reminiscent of 1960s pop-rock. "Strict Time" combines a Latin-inspired piano line with the description of a world filled with hysteria and totalitarianism. Like "The Beat" from This Year's Model, the title is a musical metaphor, implying that everyone acts in a set-in-stone way despite appearing as though they are acting under free will. "Luxembourg" is a 1950s-era rockabilly track akin to "Mystery Dance" from My Aim Is True that uses tourism as an assault on modern life. Perone describes it as "a put-down of mainland European (or Asian) tourists that take advantage of and put down the British". As a result, these tourists are subjected to a holiday in Luxembourg, "a destination that [is] less desirable than London". In a change of tempo and mood from previous track, wherein the former increases throughout, Perone considers "Watch Your Step" a showcase for the "sophisticated interplay" of Costello and the Attractions. Gouldstone comments that "its broodingly soulful intensity is like a requiem for all vain wishes". The more upbeat music stands in contrast with the more disheartening lyrics, which takes place in a club and is filled with a variety of images, including surveillance. The lyrics get progressively darker and by the end, describes a scenario where a group of young male customers conduct brutal acts that end with violent consequences such as death, which Gouldstone argues proves that their actions are insignificant. Side two In the 2003 liner notes, Costello stated that "New Lace Sleeves" is "mostly concerned with the tension between passion and the emotionally suppressing influence of 'being civilized'." Perone notes that the song contains a lower concentration of puns that allows