For a guy with nothing left to prove, Weller sounds determined not to fade away, and as long as he keeps making records like this every couple of years, there's no danger of that happening. Everything from Curtis Mayfield to Traffic can be found within the contours of the sets 12 songs, familiar. Plenty of Weller touchstones are evident.

Where on the first listen I found it merely okay, it's a record that reveals itself as a work of surprising depth and detail when you give it multiple spins and start noticing things like the clever trombone counterpoint in the verses of 'Here's the Good News'. 1 is a dense, oversaturated collection of bold hooks, easy melodies, and multicolored sonics, a record that happily blurs distinctions between genre as it hops from mood to mood. What really struck me as I listened to As Is Now, though, is how much it grew on me. So it's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but even when the lyrics are tolerable at best it's tough to argue with lean rockers like 'Blink and You'll Miss it' and 'From the Floorboards Up', both of which showcase monster choruses and plenty of winding, heavily distorted lead guitar.

Still, it beats his perplexing order to 'sing you little fuckers/ Sing like you got no choice' on the brittle trad-rock of 'Come On/Let's Go'. By the 20th time Weller sings 'We gotta bring back the funk, ya'll/ We gotta bring back the love ya'll,' you'll wish it was an instrumental. The alto sax makes a grittier appearance on the the seven-minute groover 'Bring Back the Funk', a track that suffers from lyrics as ill-considered as the title. 'Roll Along Summer' goes even further in that direction, centering on a fluttering alto sax solo and loose-limbed drumming that smoothly underpins Weller's swooping vocals. Steven Michael 'Steve' Pilgrim (born 1979 in Liverpool) is an English drummer and singer-songwriter.He was originally the drummer for The Stands (20032004) playing on both the bands albums however he left before the band eventually split up. 'I Wanna Make It Alright' is one of several songs that hint at Weller's love of jazz, loping along with a swinging gait as pianos whiz about in the background and he sings in a falsetto. Weller's husky voice still handles the charging rockers nicely, but it's the more subtle ballads like the searching, Mellotron-soaked 'Pan' where he really shines and gets to use his range to its fullest effect. Following the inconsequential covers album Studio 150, it's a welcome return to form, harking back to the straight-ahead rock'n'roll of 1997's Heavy Soul with shades of the mellow craft that dominated 2002's Illumination. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.As Is Now is Weller's eighth studio solo album, and it does very little that you could call unexpected, but does it all very well nonetheless. See where your favorite artists and songs rank on the Rolling Stone Charts. To preview Fat Pop (Volume 1), Weller shared the video for the albumвЂ™s opening track вЂњCosmic Fringes.вЂќ The album also features guests like Andy Fairweather Low, the Mysterines singer Lia Metcalfe, frequent collaborator Hannah Peel, and WellerвЂ™s daughter Leah, who co-wrote and appears on вЂњShades of Blue.вЂќДЇat Pop (Volume 1) - due out May 14th, just 11 months after On SunsetвЂ™s arrival - is available to preorder now in a variety of formats, including a deluxe вЂњCompletistвЂ™s Set.вЂќ So IвЂ™m trying to just get on with my next record.вЂќ The tours were all canceled,вЂќ Weller said. вЂњFirst of all, IвЂ™ve been unemployed for in 43 years. In an interview with Rolling Stone in June 2020, the same month On Sunset was released, Weller professed that he was already at work on his next LP.

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