Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
(Mercury Records)
Let’s get the inevitable out of the way. After Oasis broke up in 2009, the members of the band went in two directions. Noel Gallagher went out on his own and the remaining guys formed Beady Eye. Beady Eye’s material is like a 60’s rock vampire without the sex appeal and the sales have been mostly poor. But what of the elder Gallagher’s output?
Well, thankfully Noel was always the more talented one in the family. The epic tendencies are still there with opening track “Everybody’s on the Run†making a bold statement from the start: Noel intends to make a splash on his own terms. “Death of You and Me†has that distinctive Oasis lift even with a discouraging title.
Gallagher shows that he’s more than capable of crafting a big belter of a sing-along with the string-laced “(I Wanna Live in a Dream in My) Record Machine.†The keys on “AKA…What a Life!†make it surprisingly danceable, and “Soldier Boys and Jesus Freaks†shows the songwriter diving into more political material than is usually the norm.
While Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds isn’t a radical departure from Oasis, it feels like a natural progression as Gallagher sorts out his distinctive mark as his own artist. No track weighs down the album as a whole. Patience and calm has suited a Gallagher brother, shockingly enough, and the bombast name of the album is absolutely spot on. If nothing else, Noel Gallagher has never lacked in the talent to back up his confidence.
