Sonik Kicks Island **

There is a lot to admire Paul Weller for: his class work with The Jam, his splitting of said band at the height of their popularity, and the way in which he has handled his post-Jam/Style Council solo career. Less admirable (and it's hardly something we can blame him for) is the fawning lionisation of his past 15 years as a recording artist. Sonik Kicks comes off, initially, as a companion piece to previous, far superior albums Wake Up the Nation and 22 Dreams, but unfortunately ends up a drab, disappointing selection of disparate tracks that pinball one from the other without cohesion. When Weller isn't referencing Krautrock in Green, for instance, he's trying on Damon Albarn's hat for size in The Dangerous Age. In other words, it aims to be all things to all people, but far too often falls miserably short of the target. paulweller.com

TONY CLAYTON-LEA

Download tracks: Happy Children, Green