There's gentleness at the heart of the title
A Kind Revolution, a suggestion that
Paul Weller is getting softer as he approaches the age of 60. In 2017, he's still a few years away from that milestone but he's letting himself take things a little slower, absorbing the spaciness of 2015's
Saturn's Pattern and reviving the sculpted soulful grooves of
Wild Wood. This combination means
A Kind Revolution feels straighter than any record
Weller has released in the past decade -- in other words, anything he's done since he started his collaboration with
Simon Dine, who acrimoniously parted after 2012's
Sonik Kicks -- but where
As Is Now hit hard, this has an easy touch even when the events kick off with the raver "Woo Sé Mama." This isn't the only time guitars are cranked on
A Kind Revolution -- "Satellite Kid" descends into an extended jam -- but soul is
Weller's guiding star on this record, leading him to the well-manicured upscale
Boy George duet "One Tear" and the sharp funk of "She Moves with the Fayre," which features a cameo from
Robert Wyatt. These guest appearances, particularly
Wyatt's, suggest how
Weller isn't content to settle into a familiar groove -- the lovely vocal harmonies on the closing "The Impossible Idea" are further indication of that -- but
A Kind Revolution nevertheless feels cozy, a record designed to provide nothing but comfort and that's an unusual twist for
Paul Weller. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine