True Meanings, the 14th Paul Weller solo album, the 26th studio album of his entire career, is a record unlike any he has ever made before. True Meanings is an album characterised by grandiose-yet-delicate, lush orchestration: an aesthetic to which Paul’s better-than-ever voice, singing some of his most nakedly honest words, is perfectly suited. A dreamy, peaceful, pastoral set of songs to get lost in, it is both an album that a lot of his faithful audience have wanted him to make for a long time, and an album that many new people outside of that audience will relate to. • The album was recorded in just over three weeks at Paul’s own Black Barn Studio, with the aforementioned, revolving cast of characters dropping in for a day here and there. The orchestration was added soon after, and that was that. It is always a good sign when the recording of an album is swift, and here you can just hear that the man at the centre of these songs is as focused and inspired – more inspired, even – than he has ever been.