The past decade of Paul Wellerโs career has been defined by his drive for change. From the varied beats of 2008โs 22 Dreams, through the electronica of Sonik Kicks and on to last yearโs easily overlooked experimental soundtrack to Jawbone, thereโs been a restless desire for new sounds. While thatโs been exciting to witness, itโs also sometimes overshadowed the fact Weller is still an exceptional songwriter. There are times, perhaps, when less might have been more โ so a song like the gospel-tinged โThe Cranes Are Backโ on 2017โs A Kind Revolution lacked some of the immediate beauty of the original demo, which featured little more than vocal and piano.
For True Meanings, Weller hasnโt quite stripped things back that far, but he has produced his most sonically consistent album in years. Each song began as vocal and acoustic guitar, but a sense of dynamic was added by the use of strings or horn arrangements, giving the album a backwash of luscious and uncomplicated beauty. At times, these can be relatively subtle, as on opener โThe Soul Searchersโ, where the strings are just an added layer of texture and not as important as the Hammond solo played by Rod Argent โ one of many guests on the album. Elsewhere, the strings are more prominent. The gorgeous โGravityโ swings by like a 1920s waltz, while โMay Love Travel With Youโ has the orchestral feel of a classic Tin Pan Alley weeper explicitly designed to get a post-war housewife sobbing into her onions.
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Although most songs take the shape of soul or occasionally country, there are other flavours. The most significant is the use of sitar and tampoura on โBooksโ, a splendid drone attacking religion that also has Noel Gallagher on harmonium. The other big innovation is that on four songs Weller writes tunes for other lyricists. Conor OโBrien from Villagers wrote the words to โThe Soul Searchersโ, while โBowieโ, โWishing Wellโ and โWhite Horsesโ are by Erland Cooper, who recently released an acclaimed solo album. Wellerโs own solo albums have always been a medium for collaboration, and True Meanings has appearances from Martin Carthy, Danny Thompson, Rod Argent, Barrie Cadogan, Lucy Rose and, inevitably, Noel Gallagher.
The use of strings isnโt simply a decorative conceit. They catch the albumโs mood of wistfulness, a nostalgia that the strings sometimes shade as melancholic, sometimes joyful and sometimes joyfully melancholic. Weller turned 60 in May, and that milestone as given him reason to look back just as turning 50 inspired his creative renewal with 22 Dreams. On the delicate, Disney-like โGlideโ, he sings about gliding โthrough a portal to be youthโ and how he will โsee the memories unfoldโ, while โMay Love Travel With Youโ opens with him โcombing through the yearsโ. โTake me back there again/Let me feel the same way,โ he pleads on โMayflyโ, a slice of gorgeous soul that harks back to Stanley Road.
The theme of ageing finds a rich extended metaphor in the jazzy โOld Castlesโ, on which Weller pictures a Lear-like king in a crumbling castle, wracked with self-doubt. On the simple โBowieโ, Erland Cooper contemplates the mortality of the immortal, while Weller affects a mildly โจoff-putting imitation of the titular singer.
Not that Weller is past it, yet. The pastoral โCome Alongโ, which features Martin Carthy on guitar and Danny Thompson on bass and was cut live, has Weller as an assertive lothario: โCome along and be my baby/Though weโve only met/I just wanna take you home and/Let nature do the rest.โ That song hints at slightly illicit sex, and itโs not the only song to cover that territory. Best of these is โWhat Would He Say?โ, which has a country tone and a beautiful mournful flugel horn solo. On True Meanings, Weller has a lot of love to give, but itโs not always clear who is getting it.
The final songs see him reassert his place in the world, seeking comfort in โจthe familiar. On the organ-rich, gospel-tinged โMovinโ Onโ, heโs adamant that โIโve got love all around, I donโt need nothing else,โ while the elegant โWhite Horsesโ sees him take solace in the sanctuary of home. โTime flies/And itโs lonely alone,โ he sings, content about where the journey of life has taken him. โWhite horses are taking me home.โ