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The elder statesman of rock, British legend, Paul Weller releases his 10th solo
offering.
Paul Weller really needs no introduction, but to briefly recap – as lead of The Jam and eventually, the Style Council, he is known as the
Modfather for being part of the Mods musical movement. One of the most
accomplished and diverse musicians of our time; his solo work has been just as
well received.
Opener, ‘Moonshine’ is as classically-influenced as you could wish, with a streaming piano line,
reminiscent of 50s rock and roll. Weller’s fast-paced lyrics drift in and out, with a progressively 70s rock (The Doors) vibe. The titletrack is an off-the-wall toe-tapper, taking a satirical look at
modern life, particularly with lyrics like: “get your face off the Facebook and turn off your phone”, it’s a wonderfully relevant tune.
Weller almost sounds like Bob Dylan on the slower prog. rock ballad, ‘No Tears to Cry’. It’s got a sense of the Isley Brothers about it, in its authentically delivered
classic roots. ‘Fast Car / Slow Traffic’ almost returns us to the days of The Jam, yet again has some lingering 60s soul
vibe about it in another enjoyable effort. ‘In Amsterdam’ adds an authentic carnival atmosphere about the City of Sin and is a nice
interlude.
The Modfather employs slow rock ramblings, reminiscent of Ozzy Osbourne on the
emotional, ‘She Speaks’. Slow and poignant, it’s another mood-builder, situated perfectly. There’s more of a sunshiney, psychedelic (like The Who) vibe on ‘Find the Torch, Burn the Plans’. You almost think it’s gonna break out into a chorus of “she’s got a ticket to riiide”, but it doesn’t and is a nice BritPop-like sing-a-long.
‘Aim High’ is more of a mellow affair, with some beautifully chilled lead vocals, amongst
a teasing backbeat, which becomes very orchestral. It’s almost as easy-going as G Funk and is a true standout. ‘Trees’ is retro rock-and-roll but switches modern into different old-school styles to
make a real chameleon of a song. ‘Grasp and Still Connect’ is more your classic Weller and works well. ‘Whatever Next’ is musically accomplished as a stellar instrumental.
Things get very dramatic on ‘7 & 3 is the Striker’s Name’ as Weller growls: “curse the fuckers in their castles”. It’s a bit bizarre, but enjoyable. Thunderbirds gets sampled on ‘Up the Dosage’ as it turns into a dark and thumping indie song. ‘Pieces of a Dream’ features beautiful piano lines, lyrics and thunderous production. ‘2 Fat Ladies’ draws on Weller’s British charm and combines progressive, ambient synths amongst an unforgiving
rock tempo.
Released - 19/4/10
Label - Island
10th solo album, 22nd in total
- Moonshine
- Wake Up the Nation
- No Tears Left to Cry
- Fast Car, Slow Traffic
- In Amsterdam
- Find the Torch, Burn the Plans
- Aim High
- Trees
- Whatever Next
- 7 & 3 is the Striker’s Name
Paul Weller has certainly proven here that he is no one-trick-pony. Effortlessly
switching styles, influences and tempos, this is a highly accomplished record
that actually doesn’t feel that long, despite its sixteen parts. Hard to fault, other than saying
there’s a lack of stand-outs, but who cares?
9.5
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The Welsh metallers release their third. Bullet for My Valentine is a rare
breading these days – a reasonably successful metal band, staying true to their heavier roots and not
a synthesizer in sight!
Opener, ‘Your Betrayal’ is a fairly catchy, powerful affair. Thundering drums, not dissimilar to
Slipknot’s, mixed with pounding metal guitar solos and some screeching vocals, courtesy
of Matt Tuck. The titletrack continues down this unforgiving route with a
mighty ‘Knot-esque noise assault. Lyrically, it’s something Kiss would be proud of; musically, it’s pretty generic, yet authentic, hard rock.
‘The Last Fight’ actually begins quite similar to its predecessors, before allowing for more
rhythm to take over. A fast-paced anthem, it just doesn’t offer anything remotely different.
The Metallica-esque faded guitar leads into ‘A Place Where You Belong’ and it soon becomes obvious that it is more than slightly influenced by ‘The Unforgiven’. A slower, ballady effort, it just lacks any real invention and is packed with
clichés. Speaking of which, ‘Pleasure and Pain’, despite having a fairly catchier feel, pretty much sticks to the tiresome,
formulaic efforts of before.
The band goes back to a classic rock sound on ‘Alone’ with epic blinging guitar solos and endless lyrical clichés, making them sound a bit like My Chemical Romance – not a great move. ‘Breaking Out, Breaking Down’ goes a bit OTT on the screeching vocals, drawing similarities with that other
Welsh “metal band”, Lostprophets. I’m not doubting the authenticity, it’s just been done so many times before.
Tuck goes all songbird on ‘Bittersweet Memories’ and actually showcases decent vocals. It’s certainly more commercial-sounding, being less-inclined to go off on a rampage
as the other efforts. ‘Dignity’ is not as heavy either, but ends up sounding more like Ian Watkins’ Prophets than ever before. Not an unusual choice of song – one about not conforming to society’s restrictions; musically, it’s stronger and does stand up a lot better than many others here.
Needless to say the Slipknot-sounding track comes on ‘Begging for Mercy’. It has all the trademarks – battering drumbeats, metal-screams and of course, the off-the-wall guitar
screech. It’s just too 2001 for my liking. Finally, ‘Pretty on the Outside’ is more frantic metal and you may have trouble distinguishing it from the
crowd, if you’re still listening by this point of course, I certainly didn’t want to be.
Released - 26/4/10
Label - Jive
3rd studio album
This record could have been released 5, 10, even 20 years ago, such is its
authentic nu-metal/metal/rock stylings. That, however, is not something to be
proud of. There’s nothing that even resembles originality here; not in the riffs and certainly
not the cliché-laden lyrics. Old rockers will love it, I’m sure; but music is about doing something new or at least doing something old
well and I don’t think either of these mandates could apply to this album.
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