Paul Weller can't 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 doesn't 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 set's 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 album's 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 2008's
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