Singer Paul Weller just release his latest album, ‘Fat Pop,’ today (14 May). It comes as his sixteenth solo album, having just released ‘On Sunset’  just ten months ago. While fans praise him for such a feat, two albums in less than two years, Weller has the perfect realistic response, telling the Guardian, “Nothing else to do, was there?”

Weller became well known during his work in bands like punk group The Jam and blue-eyed soul project The Style Council. He then started his solo career with his self-titled album in 1992. He has several tours coming up starting this November, and even has an exhibition about The Jam that is now scheduled for summer 2022. Having spent decades thriving in the music industry in several different outlets, Weller continues to churn out new ways to express himself.

The 62-year-old songwriter worked on many of the songs from the album during the first lockdown. In fact, he has several tracks on this album that came about during his work on ‘On Sunset’ that he didn’t use. He had his regular musicians practice it independently (Steve Cradock on guitar, Andy Crofts on bass, and drummer Ben Gordelier) and when they could finally get into the studio to record together, they were able to have the album finished in no time.

Just as quickly as the album was finished is how quickly one moves between each song. They are upbeat and typically brief, very intentionally. “Yeah, they’re all short, like three minutes, and they’re all immediate,” he says. “It was a conscious decision to make it like that.” These 12 tracks range from relationships to fatherhood to racial politics. Even with the broad range of topics, there is an air of positivity surrounding them all. Weller and his fans attribute this in part to his commitment to being sober for 11 years now. He explains: “Since I’ve been sober…I get more from music. Not just my music, but all music. It means more to me, and it’s more direct to my heart and my soul. And certainly playing it.”

You can listen to the full album below.