Fat Pop (Standard Vinyl)

キャリア通算7枚目の全英1位を獲得した前作『オン・サンセット』(2020)から1年も経たずに新作が完成!16枚目のソロ・ニュー・アルバム。

ロックダウンによりツアーが延期となった昨年、ポール・ウェラーはヴォーカルとピアノとギターだけで録音した新曲案をバンド・メンバー(ベン・ゴードリエ＜Ds/Perc＞、スティーヴ・クラドック＜G＞、アンディ・クロフツ＜B＞)に送り制作を進め、ロックダウン解除後に英サリー州にあるウェラーのブラック・バーン・スタジオに皆で集まって仕上げた。

Paul Weller cant sit still. Even during busy times, he manages to release an album every other year, so when facing the lockdown accompanying the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, he did what comes naturally: he wrote and recorded a new album. Enter Fat Pop, Vol. 1, a bright burst of cheerful color arriving in the midst of a time of gloom. Though it doesnt sound much like either record, Fat Pop, Vol. 1 belongs to a very specific category of Weller album, the kind where the title accurately describes what lies inside (think Heavy Soul or Sonik Kicks). Fat Pop, Vol. 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. Plenty of Weller touchstones are evident. Everything from Curtis Mayfield to Traffic can be found within the contours of the sets 12 songs, familiar sounds that seem fresh due to unpredictable production juxtapositions, and a sharp decision to keep things tight and breezy. Half of the albums tracks clock in at under three minutes, a move that allows for the mellow closing numbers In Better Time and Still Glides the Stream to play a bit like a reflective coda. This pair of tunes end Fat Pop, Vol. 1 on a slightly subdued note, but that only helps to put the dynamism of the rest of the record into perspective. Weller may often be adventurous, particularly during the third act inaugurated with 2008s 22 Dreams, yet he rarely seems as loose and playful as he does here, and that sense of mischief is an unexpected and welcome gift. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

全英1位を獲得した力作『On Sunset』から1年弱での新作は、ロックダウン期間を活かして通常とは違う行程で制作されたもの。それゆえにコンパクトで引き締まった楽曲が並ぶ様子からはライヴへの渇望が表れているようにも思える。テンプテーションズを思わせる"Testify"やトラフィックっぽい"Moving Canvas"など、いろんな引き出しを開けた意匠はシンプルかつ曲ごとに多彩で、渋みを湛えた歌唱の力強さが光る。今回も充実!
bounce (C)大原かおり