Artist:     Paul Weller

Album:     A Kind Revolution

Label:     Warner Bros.

Release Date:     05.19.2017

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This is UK punkster-cum-of-age-rocker Paul Weller again claiming his rightful place as an ever- interesting musician with a penchant for taking the music by the scruff of the neck and shaking it up more than just a bit. Weller has been pretty quiet for a few years in the recent past so it’s good to know he hasn’t lost his golden touch for lyricism and acute pulsing melody. A Kind Revolution is Weller sharing his gifts with panache, style and a mix of apparent influences that shine throughout.

Weller has always been an attention grabber right from the get-go as the frontman of UK punk-rockers The Jam and Style Council. There are strong whiffs of near-’60s pop at its very highest, alongside some thrashing fretwork that punches through electronic backgrounds with powerful echoes of his punk-rock days, a happy insistence that will no doubt delight huge numbers of his fans worldwide.

More recently, Weller has been immersed in shaping his first movie score with the soundtrack for Jawbone, and the release in March of the album, Jawbone: Music from the Film. With A Kind Revolution, he has pulled in guest favors from some of his best UK musical buddies including Boy George, Madeline Bell, Robert Wyatt and PP Arnold. His own guitar chops remain central to everything he does and explode from the ten-track offering with a rapid-fire, rattle and roar whenever needed. Just take a listen to a couple of tracks, “Satellite Kid,” and the closing, “Impossible Idea,” and you’re bound to be both hooked and mightily impressed.

This is an album that should keep Weller center stage and shows his clear talent for drawing from a variety of influences to deliver damn fine music whatever the genre.

—Iain Patience