In a 2012 interview, Paul Weller described seeing footage of the late left-wing politician Tony Benn speak: “He said that cynicism is the real enemy. I think that’s so right, I’m always wary and conscious of that.”
Two or three tracks into ‘A Kind Revolution’ - Weller’s 13th solo album - that sensibility is on show. He is a performer whose furious delivery can often appear threatening: as though he might smack you if you asked for a photo after the gig.
And yet his songwriting is laced with profound compassion. Long Long Road is a beautiful, sprawling indie track, halfway between Robbie Williams’ Angels and (perhaps knowingly) the Beatles’ Long And Winding Road. Its kindhearted lyrics speak of getting old with a warm, wistful romance.
Elsewhere, She Moves With The Fayre is a blue-eyed soulful groover with majestic tonal switches and delightfully crisp production. New York, meanwhile, has a delicious, fruity rhythm section steeped in the dynamic flavours of the city.
There are also potentially pedestrian songs that have been bolstered by intelligent and inventive arrangements. Hopper is middle-of-the-road but for robust brass and unusual textures while One Tear - a song that could easily render itself filler - actually ends up being one of the album’s strongest tracks. It features Weller’s fellow ‘80s icon Boy George and disco-swaggers its way through elegant, melancholic chord changes. It is vintage stuff from a singer approaching 60.
An apparently renewed devotion to the Modfather's signature sound actually recalls another singer in the third act of their career: Van Morrison. ‘A Kind Revolution’ might have a similar effect to Morrison’s ‘Back on Top’, which was an album that seemed to refresh his entire oeuvre.
Whether it does that remains to be seen, but it's another fabulous turn from a voice that simply will not be silenced 40 years after it was first heard. Go see him live if you can, just don't ask for that photo.
Paul Weller Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Sat February 17 2018 - BRIGHTON Centre
Sun February 18 2018 - BOURNEMOUTH BIC
Tue February 20 2018 - PLYMOUTH Plymouth Pavilions
Wed February 21 2018 - CARDIFF Motorpoint Arena Cardiff
Fri February 23 2018 - LEEDS first direct Arena
Sat February 24 2018 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE Metro Radio Arena
Sun February 25 2018 - GLASGOW SSE Hydro
Tue February 27 2018 - NOTTINGHAM Motorpoint Arena Nottingham
Thu March 01 2018 - MANCHESTER Arena
Fri March 02 2018 - BIRMINGHAM Genting Arena
Sat March 03 2018 - LONDON O2
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