Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Blender
Chicago Tribune
Entertainment Weekly	A
Rolling Stone
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
Select	4/5
Smash Hits	9/10
Uncut
The Village Voice	A

Trust is an album by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. It is Costello's fifth album, and fourth with the Attractions. It was also his fifth consecutive album produced by Nick Lowe, who handled production on all songs except "Big Sister's Clothes" (which the liner notes make clear by stating that Lowe was "not to blame" for it).

Costello's original intent with Trust was to cross the melody of Armed Forces with the rhythm of Get Happy!! The songs on the album dealt with a general sense of disenchantment he felt during the time, with the recent election of the Conservative government as well as tensions within his first marriage, which gave them an overall cynical tone. As a result, the general lyrical content of the songs describe a world that is essentially the opposite of what the album title implies. Earlier working titles were "Cats and Dogs" and "More Songs About Fucking and Fighting".

The initial recording sessions were held at DJM Studios in London, but they were displeased with the results. It did not help that the bandmates were almost constantly under the influence of mood-altering drugs. As Costello wrote in the liner notes of the Rhino reissue:

Recording resumed at Eden Studios, where previous albums had been done. Although the band was no more sober, the resulting tracks were more to Costello's liking. Despite having previously expressed a desire to distance himself from the pop music mainstream, Costello revealed that a number of songs on the album were influenced by other contemporary artists. Specifically, "Clubland" incorporated the guitar style of the Police, "You'll Never Be A Man" borrowed from the Pretenders, "White Knuckles" was modelled on XTC records, and "Fish 'n' Chip Paper" was an homage to Squeeze. Lastly, "Big Sister's Clothes" had a bass line based on work by the Clash.

According to AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Trust was conceived as "a stylistic tour de force", with examples of diverse styles on the record being the Bo Diddley beat on "Lovers' Walk", the jazz elements to "Clubland", the soul pop of "Watch Your Step", the "rockabilly redux" of "Luxembourg", the Tin Pan Alley-style pop of "Shot with His Own Gun", the country-styled "Different Finger" and the "more complex arrangements and musicianship" that accompany "White Knuckles" and "New Lace Sleeves".

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