SOUND JUDGEMENT

THE LATEST ALBUM RELEASES RATED AND REVIEWED

ON SUNSET

PAUL WELLER

★★★★★ FIFTEEN solo albums in, plus six with The Jam and five with The Style Council, The Changingman Paul Weller can still spring a surprise, with opening track Mirror Ball, a seven minutes 37 seconds sprawling ballad, which at times dissolves into electronic noise. Second track Baptiste introduces the defining sound of On Sunset, blue-eyed soul with Stax-style keyboards, while Old Father Tyme adds psychedelic harmonies and the jaunty Equanimity has the feel of classic ‘60s Kinks and features Slade’s Jim Lea on violin. There are nods to The Beatles, but he’s looking forward as well, with Earth Beat’s futuristic electronic soul.

BIGGER LOVE JOHN LEGEND

★★★★★ JOHN LEGEND really can’t put a foot wrong musically. And his new album, Bigger Love, is testament to this. The single of the same name and music video, which saw fans from across the world submit clips for use, have both already made their mark.

This album oozes everything you associate with Legend: love and soulfulness in heaps. Tracks like Wild are hits just waiting to climb the charts, while U Move, I Move and Conversations In The Dark are powerful artistic statements.

Legend tweeted about his album: “This project has been a labor of love for me... I poured my heart and soul into these songs...”

All that effort has paid off.

10:20 WIRE

★★★★★

FOR more than 40 years this London four-piece have captivated generations of followers.

The temptation for many bands of such longstanding might be to throw out a collection of substandard old demo tapes once a year and dine off the royalty cheques. Not so Wire, who with 10:20 offer up a combination of revisited tracks from the cutting room floor and reimagined releases.

And, despite being drawn from a cross-section of decades of work, it hangs together surprisingly well.