Although not necessarily a household name in the U.S., the U.K.’s Paul Weller was the lead singer for the band the Jam in the ’70s and ’80s (and the Style Council), before flying solo. With “On Sunset” (Polydor), his 15th album, the prolific songwriter has traded in his angry, young-man persona and adapted nicely to the elder statesman who still has plenty to say. The ‘Modfather,’ as he is known by some, released three singles from the new CD, teasing rock and rollers and dreamscapers alike. “Village” is the latter, an ethereal piece, decidedly un-rockable, but iridescently familiar. With its lush California sound, Weller knows how to craft a catchy song. The tune is about a man who is content with the state of his life. Weller himself has described the record as “pretty soulful with some cosmic edges… very up and joyful. It’s a positive, summery-sounding record.” In an effort to expand to his constantly evolving musical stylings, Weller has always dabbled some in electronics and R&B. As “Earth Beat,” opens, the song is drenched in synthesizers before morphing into a Hammond organ-driving, masterful pop song. And while he sweeps through ballads and orchestrations, “On Sunset” is a soul album, with Weller speed freaking along with nary a look in the rearview mirror.

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Inspired by CBS records invention of the ‘sampler LP,’ in ’60s, which gathered singles from second-tier artists and released them on a smorgasbord record album, the sardonic Nick Lowe (of “Cruel to be Kind” fame), has dropped a new four-song EP of tunes, titled, “Lay It On Me” (Yep Roc Records). A notable figure of powerpop and new wave, Lowe once said that his greatest fear in recent years was “sticking with what you did when you were famous. I didn’t want to become one of those thinning-haired, jowly old geezers who still does the same shtick they did when they were young, slim and beautiful. That’s rather tragic.” The rocker-turned-worldly balladeer is unabashedly complacent with his stark vocals and graceful tunes. He’s joined once again by the Nashville surf-rock band, Los Straitjackets,” (famous for wearing Mexican wrestling masks, they previously backed Lowe on 2019’s EP “Love Starvation/Trombone” and 2018’s “Tokyo Bay/Crying Inside.“) The new CD’s first single, “Lay It On Me Baby,” is a sweet, upbeat love song, (“Just like a fish in a babbling brook/I’m nibbling at your hook/Don’t let me be the one that got away,“) the 71-year-old Lowe sings in a tone that almost sounds like he’s having a ball. Lowe has long been associated with Elvis Costello, who recorded Lowe’s song “What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding?” And that’s where any similarity begins. Lowe has a penchant for singing while he still has his tongue firmly planted in his cheek. And on the new EP, that’s evident with the inclusion of the 1962 Brenda Lee song, “Here Comes That Feeling.” From a man who once said, “You try to make every word count, so there’s no doubt of what you’re talking about,” Lowe goes high with another triumph. The only caveat is that there isn’t more to “Lay” about.

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Irish nu-wavers the Boomtown Rats are best known for tapping into the mainstream conscience in 1979, with the smash, “I Don’t Like Mondays,” from their album, “The Fine Art of Surfacing.” Now, they’re back with “Citizens of Boomtown”(BMG), a flashback, pressure cooker of foot-stompers (“Trash Glam Baby”) and bar room piano and grungy guitars (the standout, “Sweet Thing.”) In the U.S., most people know the Boomtown Rats frontman and humanitarian Bob Geldof for co-founding Live Aid, one of the largest charity events and stage shows ever produced and invented the all-star charity single with “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” Since reforming in 2013, “Citizens” is the Rats’ first record in 36 years – quite the hiatus. The CD is actually the kind of comeback album that bands tend to make after a long time away: it has nostalgic nods to their first musical loves, bits that nod back to the first records they made, plenty of vim and spark but without the fuel that was first ignited by that spark. The album is both preposterous and wonderful. It starts strong and gets demented towards the end, with two unlikely punk-electro-disco bangers, “Get A Grip,” and the terrace chant shouty, “The Boomtown Rats.” They’re bonkers and likeable, a lot like the Rats.

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