"New"

Paul McCartney’s recent output has been surprisingly schizophrenic, veering from the cheeky Starbucks standards on Kisses on the Bottom to fronting a reconstituted Nirvana. But “New”, the title track off his upcoming solo album (October 14 in the UK and October 15 in the U.S), is what might be called classic Macca: a silly love song on par with “This One”, if not “Maybe I’m Amazed”. You’ll swear you’ve heard this melody before somewhere in his enormous catalog, but that doesn’t mean he’s recycling. The familiarity of “New” is reassuring, as warm and familiar as a worn comforter or a cup of tea. That gentle melancholy, most evident when his voice careers (with surprising agility) up to hit those high notes, is at odds with the witty arrangement, which tacks on a coda all but quoted from Smile. “Don’t look at me,” he sings. “It’s way too soon to see what’s gonna be.” Even as a septuagenarian, McCartney would rather look hopefully toward the future-- even while he’s having a bit of fun with the past.