Paul McCartney – New

Spontaneous energy and frequent naked emotions...

There’s a curious schizophrenia to ‘New’ that arises from its impulsive roll call of super producers, an enlivening yet somewhat unnecessary concept that defines Macca’s first album of original material in six years.

As an exercise in diversity, it’s a master class. There’s room here for fuzz rock (‘Save Us’), retro tones (‘New’, below), acoustic sheen (‘Early Days’) and even electronica (‘I’m Looking At Her’). These tangents are guided by Paul Epworth, Mark Ronson, Ethan Johns and Giles Martin respectively.

This range of styles on ‘New’ could have been distracting if not for the material’s solid foundations, spontaneous energy, and frequent naked emotions.

7/10

Words: Simon Harper

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Stream tracks by Paul McCartney via Deezer, below…

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