In an annual tradition that’s rapidly taking on as much importance as the Queen’s Christmas Message, remembering to remove the plastic bag containing the turkey giblets, and avoiding Mrs Brown and her Boys until they’ve all been imprisoned on a remote Scottish island without any form of communication, I bring you the first instalment of The Acoustic Egg Box Albums of the Year for 2018.
I’ve undoubtedly missed some wonderful records again this year and I actively encourage you to let me know what they are. I only have a finite amount of hours in a day and, generally speaking, if I’m not listening to music I’m reading about it so I genuinely rely on my many equally sociopathic friends on various social media platforms to keep me informed about things I might have overlooked.
Although they would undoubtedly have been high up in my chart, I haven’t included the posthumous Charles Bradley album “Black Velvet” as, out of the ten tracks, only three are new. Likewise, Primal Scream’s “Give Out But Don’t Give Up: The Original Memphis Recordings” is exceptional but it’s not “new” as such and therefore can’t be included (my gaff, my rules!). Also, an honourable mention to those that fell just short of the Top 20: The Coral “Move Through The Dawn”; Janelle Monae “Dirty Computer”; Belle & Sebastian “How To Solve Our Human Problems”; Khruangbin “Con Todo El Mundo”; James Hunter Six “Whatever It Takes”; Jonathan Wilson “Rare Birds; Corduroy “Return of the Fabric Four”
My other favourite things this year were:
Gig : Georgie Fame – Rosemoor Gardens, Torrington 25th May
Film: BlacKkKlansman
TV Show: A Very English Scandal
Book: Stuart Cosgrove’s “Memphis ’68: The Tragedy Of Southern Soul”
Disappointments of the year for me were the new Suede album “The Blue Hour”, which I’ve persevered long and hard with but just can’t get into, the fabulous John Grant’s “Love Is Magic” which is just hard work and not up to his usual very high standard. And Morrissey.
Anyway, enough of this bollocks here’s the Top 20 – a Spotify playlist of which you can listen to below.
20: JONATHAN JEREMIAH – Good Day (PIAS)
As I was previously unaware of his music, it came as a surprise to me that “Good Day” is North London-based singer/ songwriter Jonathan Jeremiah’s fourth studio album. Jeremiah possesses a warm, soulful voice which has more than a hint of John Martyn about it. This voice is perfectly showcased on the album’s title track and opening single; a gorgeous slice of summery soul which, for me, was one of the tracks of the year. Other album highlights include “Deadweight”, a seven-minute epic, apparently inspired by Lee Hazlewood & Nancy Sinatra’s “Some Velvet Morning” and “U-Bahn (It’s Not Too Late For Us)”, a track that sounds like a lost 1970s classic that Glen Campbell would have recorded.
19: TARA MILTON WITH THE BOY AND MOON – Serpentine Waltz (Boy & Moon Recordings)
Tara Milton – a handsome and gifted musician and songwriter who, back in 1991, had all the attributes of a major star. He was then the bassist and singer with Modish rockers, Five Thirty, who recorded one classic album, “Bed”, before disbanding acrimoniously shortly after its release. In the twenty years since Milton’s second band, The Nubiles, split, the only hint of a resurfacing was the occasional rumour that he was working on new material. Earlier this year those rumours proved true when “Serpentine Waltz” was born, and what a triumphant return from the wilderness it is. With shades of Dylan, Drake and “22 Dreams” era Weller, he has treated us to nine lush, beautifully crafted tracks. From album opener, the cinematic “Assassins” through the gorgeous, late-night jazz-club feel of “Getting It On With The Man In The Moon” and the existential two-part epic “Double Yellow (Lines 1 and 2)”, Serpentine Waltz is the comeback album of 2018 – just don’t make us wait another 20 years please, Tara!
* You can read a full album review by clicking on the brilliant Monkey Picks blog here
18: WOODEN SHJIPS – V. (Thrill Jockey)
V. is San Franciscan psychedelic space-rockers, Wooden Shjips, fifth album, and is (for them at least) the most accessible record they’ve released so far. Across the 6 tracks, which clock in at a respectable 43 minutes, the band have adopted a somewhat more restrained approach than their previous efforts. This is especially noticeable on album closer, “Ride On”, which is almost stately in places. That said, V. is far from sedate. Opening track, “Eclipse”, kicks things off with a driving, motorik beat which underpins echo-heavy, Stone Roses-esque vocals. Another high point is the shimmering “Staring At The Sun”; a superb track which sounds like a 21st-century reimagining of Buffalo Springfield’s classic “For What It’s Worth”. If it emerged slap bang in the middle of 1967, V. wouldn’t sound out of place and it’s this same point that enhances its credentials as one of the best rock albums of 2018. Fun fact: Wooden Shjips named themselves after the Jefferson Airplane/ Crosby Stills & Nash track – adding the extra “j” to make themselves sound Swedish!
17: STONE FOUNDATION – Everybody, Anyone (100% Records)
The hardest working British band around has followed up last year’s excellent Top 30 album “Street Rituals” (AEB 2017 No.10) with another accomplished set of funky, soulful, grooves. “Everybody, Anyone” is the band’s eighth studio album in just over thirteen years – a period in which they’ve toured relentlessly and gained more fans (including a certain Mr Weller) with each release. Heavyweight guests on this album include former Style Council members, Mick Talbot and Steve White; Dr Robert from The Blow Monkeys; singer/ songwriter Kathryn Williams and legendary Average White Band guitarist Hamish Stuart. The album’s best tracks are the seven-minute, brass-heavy groover, “Standing On The Top” and the lilting “Don’t Walk Away” featuring Kathryn Williams. As good as Stone Foundation’s recorded output is, the obvious love and passion for what they do shines through like a bright, funky beacon when they’re on stage. For me, their gig at Bristol’s Thekla in November was one of the best, and most enjoyable of the year.
16: SPIRITUALIZED – And Nothing Hurt (Bella Union)
After surviving liver failure, a recent bout of double pneumonia and years of rampant “self-medication”, praise be that Jason Pierce is still with us let alone releasing his best work since 1997’s classic, “Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space”. Apparently, Pierce recorded “And Nothing Hurt” alone in the spare room of his apartment with (in his own words) “no one on the record being in the same place at the same time”. That was some achievement given his state of health. Of the nine tracks on the album, only two are uptempo: “On The Sunshine” and “The Morning After”; the rest feature Pierce’s fragile vocals backed by heavenly choirs, dense orchestration, psychedelic synths and lullaby melodies. My favourite track is the country-tinged ballad “Here It Comes (The Road) Let’s Go”, on which he doffs a cap to early ‘70s Stones. As with all Spiritualized records, “And Nothing Hurt” is still, thankfully, the aural equivalent of drowsing in a warm bath whilst a peripheral, flickering candle casts unnerving shadows on the walls.
15: LEON BRIDGES – Good Thing (Columbia)
Leon Bridges 2015 debut album “Coming Home” (AEB 2015 No.19) was a reverent homage to the great soul singers of the ‘60s. “Good Thing”, however, whilst retaining some traditional soul elements, sees Bridges move towards a more contemporary r&b sound, albeit a contemporary sound rooted in the ‘80s & ‘90s rather than the late noughties. “If It Feels Good (Then It Must be)” enters Pharell territory; “You Don’t Know” has Nile Rodgers’ influence running through it; the brilliant opening single “Bad, Bad News”, is a swinging, jazzy number and “Beyond” is one of the most heartfelt ballads of the year. It’s good to see Bridges pushing his boundaries rather than opting for another “old school” set, and I’m looking forward to see which direction this talented, 29-year-old Texan takes next.
14: INSECURE MEN – Insecure Men (Fat Possum)
When the Fat White Family’s newly clean, formerly heroin-addicted songwriter, Saul Adamczewski joined up with old friend Ben Romans-Hopcraft of pop-soul outfit, Childhood, (“Universal High” AEB No.5 2017) to form Insecure Men, the outcome was far from certain. However, the resulting self-titled album is, on the surface at least, a tuneful delight. The eleven tracks are awash with echoey vocals, loungey exotica, squelchy synths and the occasional Bontempi organ underpinning off-kilter easy-listening melodies. Scratch just beneath the surface of these bouncy tunes, though, and there lurks a disconcerting lyrical bleakness. This is plainly noticeable on “Mekong Glitter” (about Gary Glitter), “The Saddest Man In Penge” (a painful memoir), “Cliff Has Left the Building” and the heartbreaking “Whitney Houston & I”. Although “Insecure Men” is (apparently) only a side-project for these two talented but criminally underrated musicians, it is one of the year’s unexpected but glittering treasures.
13: VILLAGERS – The Art Of Pretending To Swim (Domino)
Conor O’Brien, the driving force behind Dublin’s Villagers, has had a busy year. Not only has he released the most accessible and sonically interesting Villagers album to date, he’s also co-written and produced material for Paul Weller’s current LP. Maybe the spreading of O’Brien’s wings is the reason this record has a more eclectic feel to it. It’s still unmistakeably Villagers, but synthesised electronic elements weave interesting and often unexpected textures through many of the tracks. O’Brien’s songwriting on “The Art Of….” although as melodically strong as ever has taken on a greater maturity. The album’s central tenet of “faith” and its diverse interpretations is also an interesting new direction for O’Brien. My favourite track “Trick Of The Light” is a prime example when he writes: “If I see a sign in the sky tonight / Nobody’s gonna tell me it’s a trick of the light / May never come but I’m willing to wait / What can I say? I’m a man of the faith”. It’s incredible to think that O’Brien is still only 34, as it feels like he’s been around for at least 40 years. He is already an exceptional songwriter, and “The Art Of Pretending To Swim”, is Villagers best album yet, but I’m sure he’s still building up to greater things.
12: JOSH ROUSE – Love In The Modern Age (Yep Roc)
Josh Rouse is one of my favourite singer/songwriters of recent years and yet, despite “Love In the Modern Age” being his twelfth studio album in twenty years, he’s still virtually unknown to the casual music fan. So, here’s a plea – if you love “proper” songs but don’t know his work, start your Rouse education with 2003’s “Under Cold Blue Stars” and work outwards from there. Anyway, back to “Love In The Modern Age”. This is another superb record, but it’s the least “Josh Rouse” one he’s ever released. It’s goodbye to acoustic Americana tinged pop-folk and hello to shiny ‘80s production values and analogue synths. It’s also an extremely catchy album with earworms at every turn. “Salton Sea” is a prime example, with its electronic drum patterns, vocodered vocals and a guitar riff reminiscent of The Cure’s “A Forest”. Other album highlights are the title track, and “Businessman”; two perfect slices of smooth, retro-pop, which could both have been inspired by The Blue Nile. This is a marmite album for Josh Rouse purists I’m sure, but as I’m a sucker for drum machines, old-fashioned synth-pop and emotive saxophone breaks, it’s definitely a “yes” from me!
11: ISRAEL NASH – Lifted (Loose)
Back in 2015, Israel Nash’s superb fourth album “Silver Season” (AEB 2015 No.3) was my introduction to this enigmatic artist. Three years on, the Neil Young/ CSNY influences are still there but with celestial Beach Boys harmonies thrown in for good measure. The spacious production values on “Silver Season” allow the songs room to grow and breathe; their multi-tracked grandeur reminiscent of a slightly less frenetic Wall of Sound. The most striking example of this is how “Looking Glass” builds from gentle beginnings into a widescreen epic complete with trumpet fanfares. It’s a stunning track. In summary then, if you’ve ever wondered what The War On Drugs would sound like with added woozy pedal steel and a sprinkle of psychedelic space dust before being produced by a hippie Phil Spector, you’ll probably find “Lifted” is just what you’re looking for
10: THE FERNWEH – The Fernweh (Skeleton Key Records)
In January, BBC6Music got behind The Fernweh’s excellent début single, “The Liar” – a record that for thirty seconds sounds like a lost Joy Division single but then the vocals kick in and it takes a left turn before veering off down a sunny, psychedelic country lane. In March the second single “Is This Man Bothering You”, a rockier number that tips its hat to “John Barleycorn” era Traffic, followed whilst in June, the band cemented their place in my heart with the release of “The Next Time Around”, a song with a melody and vocal so pretty and timeless you’d be forgiven for thinking that they’d resurrected a lost Syd Barrett penned Peter & Gordon track from 1964. In fact, dotted throughout the album there are subtle ’60s folk and psychedelia influences with nods to Fairport Convention, The Zombies and latter-era Beatles. In 2017, my album of the year was The Clientele’s wonderful “Music For The Age Of Miracles (AEB 2017 No.1) and the biggest praise that I can give “The Fernweh” is that they have made a superb record that inhabits the same woozy, autumnal sphere, conjuring up a bygone, sepia-toned, age when bonfires, bicycles and birdsong were kings.
9: J.P. BIMENI & THE BLACK BELTS – Free Me (Tucxone Records)
On his multi-cultural debut album, “Free Me”, London-based, Burundian born J.P. Bimeni, along with his superb Spanish backing band, The Black Belts, has absolutely nailed the unmistakable sound of classic ’60s soul. Having been shot, poisoned and witnessed the murder of several school friends, Bimeni managed to flee his country’s civil war as a refugee in the early ’90s, bringing with him a deep well of life experience to draw on. Because of these experiences, you know that when he says: “When I sing, it feels like I’m cleansing myself; music is a way for me to forget” he means it. All great soul singers have a certain undefinable gift that sets them apart from “normal” vocalists and on “Pain Is The Name Of Your Game”, “Honesty Is A Luxury” or album highlight, “I Miss You”, you realise that Bimeni has that gift in bucket loads. With the loss of soul heavyweights Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley in the last couple of years, J.P. Bimeni has the voice, the looks, the band and the songs to be a huge future star.
8: GRUFF RHYS – Babelsberg (Rough Trade)
Former Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys is one of the most eccentric, but utterly brilliant, British songwriters of his generation. On this, his fifth solo studio album, Rhys has followed up 2014’s “American Interior” (AEB 2014 No.19) (a concept album about 18th Century Welsh explorer John Evans!) with a set of mini-masterpieces – all enhanced by a seventy-two piece orchestra. Opening track, the brilliant “Frontier Man” is an acerbic “Rhinestone Cowboy”- the sort of record that Lee Hazlewood might have made if he’d grown of in the Rhondda Valley. The catchy, “Limited Edition Heart” is as lyrically daft as it gets (“I’m not interested in your limited edition lies, limited edition porcupines, I’m just interested in your limited edition heart”); “Take That Call” is a string-laden AOR delight lifted straight from the ’70s, and album closer, “Selfies In The Sunset”, a duet with Lily Cole, is a love song but with the bizarre a backdrop of impending nuclear Armageddon. No one writes quite like Gruff Rhys which is why he remains this country’s most unique musical maverick.
7: MICHAEL NAU & THE MIGHTY THREAD – Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread (Full Time Hobby)
In my book, anyone who makes music that sounds uncannily like “Nixon” era Lambchop, and there is plenty on this record that ticks that very agreeable box, is worthy of further investigation. When the gorgeous, season-defining “Can’t Take One” floated from the radio back during our long, hot summer, my musical love affair with this previously unknown artist began. Nau writes beautiful, textured pop music of indefinable but classic provenance. The album’s opening track, “Less Than Positive”, has Cash and Orbison undertones which give the track a richness and depth often lost these days due to unnecessary over-production. Throughout the album’s eleven tracks, the lush, summery arrangements give it a warm, soulful feel; “On Ice” and “What’s A Loon” being prime examples. Swooning pedal steel, slightly off-beat vibraphone and Nau’s languid, comforting voice add to the narcotic ambience which, by the end of final track “Smudge” will have calmed even the most irascible mood.
6: FATHER JOHN MISTY – God’s Favourite Customer (Sub Pop)
Those of you hoping to hear an electroclash dance anthem or a jazz-fusion wig-out will be disappointed, as this is an unmistakably FJM album. Although the former Fleet Fox isn’t known for his three-minute party anthems, “God’s Favourite Customer” takes on an even more melancholy tone than his previous releases, feeling somewhat like an aural morning-after-the-night-before, narcotic hangover. Starting with the romantic, love-drunk feel of career-best, “I Love You Honeybear” (AEB No.1 2015) through last year’s majestically sprawling, “Pure Comedy” (AEB No.11 2017) his current effort plays out like a cryptic breakup album and is (possibly?) the third part of an exceptional, personal journey, trilogy. Self-confessional, self-absorbed and occasionally self-loathing, Tillman’s beautifully crafted and elegantly composed songs resonate with emotion; they move in an orbit inhabited by the classic works of Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Harry Nilsson, early ’70s era Elton John et al. If you need proof of this, listen to the best track on “God’s Favourite Customer”, the exquisite, piano-accompanied minor-chord ballad, “The Palace”, and after the pleading last line “I’m In Way Over My Head”, fades out, let me know I’m wrong…….
5: TRACEY THORN: Record (Unmade)
I love Tracey Thorn. She is the rarest of beasts in an entertainment world full of professionally incompetent narcissists – a supremely talented yet disarmingly modest and genuinely charming lady. Not only has she been involved with some of the greatest pop records of the past forty years, penned one of the best music autobiographies ever (Bedsit Disco Queen) and is currently the writer of a witty, intelligent monthly column for The New Statesman, but in 2018 Thorn has just made the best solo album of her long, distinguished career. “Record” (2012 Christmas album Tinsel & Lights apart) is her first release since 2010 and is also her most successful solo effort to date. A synth-pop tour de force, “Record”, in her own words, comprises “nine feminist bangers”, the most strident of which is the menacing “Sister”, an eight-minute collaboration with Corinne Bailey-Rae and Warpaint’s pounding rhythm section. With the opening lines “Don’t mess with me/ don’t hug my babies/ I’ll come for you/ you’ll find you’ve bitten off/ More than you can chew” Thorn certainly seems like she means business! Although lyrically the album appears disarmingly confessional at times, the catchy, uplifting Human League style electro-pop of album opener “Queen” is a rumination on what-ifs (“What happened if we never met?/ If I’d just ignored/ Those sliding doors”). The bright, breezy “Guitar” hints at an adolescent crush teaching her about music as well as love; “Babies” is a humorous take on not wanting/ wanting kids and the ensuing travails of motherhood and “Go”, is a melancholy ballad about those same “babies” then leaving home for University. Very few artists make intelligent “pop” music these days and, sadly, Tracey Thorn may well be a member of the last generation doing it this well.
4: ELVIS COSTELLO & THE IMPOSTERS – Look Now (Concord)
In a career spanning over forty years and (including collaborative efforts) forty-three albums encompassing genres as diverse as pop, jazz, country, rock’n’roll and reggae, you can hardly accuse the former Declan MacManus of being lazy or lacking in diversity. “Look Now” is Costello’s first album for five years and his first with The Imposters for ten, it is also his most melodic and emotionally satisfying work since the stunning 1998 collaboration with Burt Bacharach, “Painted From Memory”. No surprises then that Bacharach co-wrote and played piano on album highlights, “Don’t Look Now”, “He’s Given Me Things” and “Photographs Can Lie” although his influence can also be found throughout, especially on the sublime “Stripping Paper”. Dear old Burt isn’t the only living-legend involved with “Look Now” though, as Carole King also contributes a co-write on the upbeat stomping soul of “Burnt Sugar Is So Bitter”. As one of the most talented and best-loved songwriters that this country has ever produced, it came as a shock to many when news broke earlier in the year that the sixty-four-year-old Costello was having treatment for an aggressive form of cancer. Hopefully, the treatment he’s received has resulted in a cure because on the strength of this wonderful record, there is still plenty of creative life left in the old dog yet.
3: R W HEDGES – THE HUNTERS IN THE SNOW (Wonderfulsound)
In an era when most of what passes as pop music is often generic, derivative overproduced tat with not even so much as a memorable melody to rescue it, it is always a huge pleasure when I discover new British talent who can still combine great tunes with intelligent, thoughtful lyrics. RW Hedges, is in fact, a collaboration combining (Roy) Hedges and Luca Nieri, old school friends now working in tandem to create music born of their passion and love for songs from the classic American songbook. Whilst the influences of Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer or Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe may lurk knowingly in the background of the nine songs on this delicate and, in places, achingly beautiful album, there are also harmonies and melodies that would sit gracefully on any classic Everly Brothers album. The opening two tracks, the yearning, plaintive “Out Of Your Rain” and “Night Owl” are both imbued with a “Roy Orbison meets Richard Hawley and a “True Love Ways” era Buddy Holly in a smoky gin bar”, vibe. “Some Girl” opens like “Close To You” before settling into a lovelorn lament about a man struggling to find a good woman, before the superb opening single, “Signal Man”, offers a change of tack with a stunning song based on the Charles Dickens ghost story of the same name. Anyway, I hope I’ve given you a flavour of what to expect from “The Hunters In The Snow”, however, I’m not going to run through every track as I’m hoping to interview Roy and Luca at some point soon and I’m sure they will offer up a more personal insight into how some of the songs were conceived. Before that happens though, do yourselves a favour and take a chance on this exceptional record – you really won’t be disappointed.
2: TRACYANNE & DANNY – Tracyanne & Danny (Merge)
When the lead singer from one of my favourite bands of the last twenty years teamed up with the man who released my favourite album of 2012, there was always a likelihood that something special might happen. It did. This beguiling, 1960s tinged eponymous début from Glasgow’s Tracyanne (Campbell), of Camera Obscura and Bristol’s Danny (Coughlan) who is, to all intents and purposes, Crybaby is VERY special. Much like the RW Hedges record, there is a gentle, timeless quality to this album’s ten Edwyn Collins produced songs on which Coughlan’s Morrissey meets Orbison croon dovetails perfectly with Campbell’s sweet Caledonian country-soul voice. This combination (along with a cameo from Collins himself) is no more evident than on the album’s greatest track, Alabama – a warm, pedal steel infused tribute to Campbell’s best friend, Camera Obscura’s Carey Lander, who died of cancer in 2015 aged just thirty-three. Although Ms Campbell with her unmistakable vocal style takes centre stage on most tracks, Coughlan delivers the goods on “Jacqueline”, a mournful Leonard Cohen style ballad about love gone wrong “Jacqueline/ Heart-breaking porcelain/ Cursed with a winning smile/ Tears of a crocodile”. With Camera Obscura on what we are led to believe is an uncertain hiatus, this stunning record is everything, and more, that fans of the band could have been hoped for. Tracyanne Campbell is most certainly back and in fine form and the great news is that in Danny Coughlan she’s found a new and very talented partner in crime.
1: PAUL WELLER: True Meanings (Parlophone)
As he’s my biggest (living) musical hero, I find it difficult to write objectively about Paul Weller. It’s also difficult to add anything original when writing about one of the few remaining, and most documented, great British rock icons still performing. Through his various incarnations, Weller, even at the arse end of the ’80s when it seemed that he was about to become a burnt-out footnote, (an important, influential burnt-out footnote mind you) his songs and lyrics continued to be as important to me as ever. Happily, with the UK release of his eponymous solo début album in 1992, the great man resurrected himself. Unknown to us at that time, he was about to enter, Lazarus like, the most productive period of his career. “True Meanings” is now Weller’s fifteenth solo album and his third in as many years, coming hot on the heels of 2017’s superb “A Kind Revolution”, (AEB No.4 2017) and “Saturns Pattern” from 2015, (AEB No.18 2015). Released to coincide with his sixtieth birthday, this album is one of Weller’s most accomplished and satisfying records, but anyone expecting an angry, politically charged rant will bitterly disappointed. A largely acoustic, modestly paced record replete with orchestral flourishes and string arrangements courtesy of The Unthanks’ Hannah Peel, “True Meanings” is aligned more to the pastoral folk of Wild Wood and 22 Dreams than, say, the more experimental and rockier “Saturns Pattern” or “Wake Up the Nation”. Although notoriously a man in supreme control, Weller gave up co-songwriting/ vocal duties on four of the album’s fourteen tracks. Villagers Conor O’Brien takes a co-writing and vocal credit on soulful opener “The Soul Searchers” and Erland Cooper of Erland & The Carnival is a co-writer on “Bowie”; a track reportedly written the day after the titular star died. Cooper also has a hand in the bucolic, folky “Wishing Well” and album closer, the gorgeous, reflective “White Horses”. It is, however, on the album’s self-penned ballads that see him ruminating on, and coming to terms with, his advancing years, that Weller shines. “Gravity”, (“Find the child inside of me/ This rusty key will set him free”) written back in 2011 is, quite simply, one of the most beautiful songs he has ever written and is the central track that this stellar album orbits. “Glide” (“Glide, glide/ Through a portal to my youth/ When the stillness of silence/ Bought its undisputed truth”) is a beautiful, dreamy lullaby, whilst “May Love Travel With You” (“Wherever your mind wanders/ While coming through the years/ May love travel with you/ Forever and without fear”) is an orchestral, soaring, almost hymnal epic. I did state at the outset of this review that it’s difficult for me to write objectively about Paul Weller, but, in my defence, whoever had the supreme talent to release something this good in 2018 would be guaranteed the No.1 spot on my chart. Hero aside, this album is an absolute masterpiece.
