After spending most of the last three years grounded by coronavirus restrictions, Paul Weller was on swashbuckling form as he completed a three-night run of London shows with a clobbering, ear-bashing, two-hour musical marathon in Brixton. As two drummers pummeled away behind a wall of clanging guitars, this was an impressively boisterous performance, albeit a little short on subtlety and variety at times.
Weller has kept busy during the pandemic, releasing two chart-topping studio albums, a superb live collection of old tunes clothed in new orchestral arrangements, and a quartet of experimental soundscapes. His musical horizons have certainly broadened over the past decade. Sadly, little of this adventurous eclecticism was evident during his Brixton show, which mostly conformed to the 63-year-old Modfather’s default setting of retro-leaning, analogue-era blues-rock. In Weller World, pop has barely evolved since the Beatles played their farewell rooftop concert.
