This new album from the singer shows an artist still willing to experiment – but with mixed effect.
Putting melody right at the front of many of the songs on this album, Paul McCartney’s latest has plenty of surprises and feels like a real guide as to how to layer a song with plenty of variety.
This being said, it does sometime before the album settles and becomes more confident in style, with early numbers such as ‘Find My Way’ and ‘Pretty Boys’ coming across as slightly tentative and lacking in direction.
However, on the other side of this ‘Lavatory Lil’ (which admittedly is not a very flattering title for a song) has a great style and rhythm to it that really showcases what McCartney is good at in terms of his songwriting abilities. Meanwhile, ‘Deep Deep Feeling’ cleverly builds up layers of sound in a stylish way that makes it a real standout track.
The second half of the album is definitely the stronger side, with songs such as ‘Slidin’ which has a distinctive blues vibe about, contrasting nicely with the understated charm of ‘The Lips of Venus’.
It certainly feels like a very experimental album, given that it was created in McCartney’s studio at his home – with plenty of time to put into the creation of it – this is not a surprise, particularly when you listen to opening number ‘Long Tailed Winter Bird’ that sets up the direction that the album is going to take.
McCartney III reaches a head, with the confident and and enjoyable ‘Seize the Day’, the cool and sophisticated ‘Deep Down’ and charming ‘Winter Bird/ When Winter Comes’.
Overall, McCartney III for me is a bit of a mixed bag collection of songs, particularly early on but still has plenty on it to intrigue and fascinate.
By Emma Clarendon
McCartney III is available to buy and download now.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐