As Is Now

Paul Weller is a heroic figure, particularly in his native England, for his role fronting the seminal mod-punk outfit, the Jam. But since the band’s early '80s dissolution, American soul music has been Weller’s primary compass. It has also frequently been his undoing—white British dudes are never as funky as they think they are—but As Is Now finds him reconciling his soul passions with the sort of quintessentially English music he can’t help making. The songs run the gamut from bluesy rock, to jaunty New Orleans piano jive, to acoustic folk and punk-edged pop that sounds more like the Jam than anything Weller’s done in years. In some ways, the album feels like something Eric Clapton might have one day made if he wasn’t a) such a fan of his own guitar playing and b) a total pussy. Which is to say, not much like Clapton at all.