Thanks to the endless goading of his younger brother, the round of interviews to promote this new album, and the fact that Noel Gallagher has a divorce to pay for, talk of an Oasis reunion seems louder than ever at the moment. But the increasingly revered band’s chief songwriter has generally favoured an easy life, and you do wonder why he’d put himself through the inevitable aggro, lucrative though it would be, given that things are going very nicely for him the way they are.
Yes, Liam has promoted his own solo career more vociferously, and capped it in glorious style with a nostalgic return to Knebworth last summer, while Noel has summer 2023 mapped out with headlining slots at some pretty minor UK festivals. But in terms of album sales, Noel has consistently outsold his brother and gone platinum every time. If he seems more low-key – you may not have noticed that his High Flying Birds have now been going for over a decade – that’s because, aside from the traditional snipes at other bands here and there, there’s been very little drama. “Looking back on it, it has been a breeze,” he said recently.
That calm confidence comes across throughout the fourth NGHFB album, which rarely shouts or hurries but is consistently pleasant company. On the last one, Who Built the Moon? in 2017, he had some rowdier moments and a handful of experiments – including, notoriously, Charlotte Marionneau “playing” the scissors. But the idea of a Gallagher experimenting is a relative concept, so you’re unlikley to spit out your coffee this time when an accordion wanders in at the end of the lovely Dead to the World.
A hissing drum machine provides the rhythm on the tense, grittier Pretty Boy, which also features Johnny Marr on guitar. There She Blows! also finds a heaviness that just about stays on the right side of plodding. More generally, Council Skies has a rich, mature sound awash with strings. The pounding beat of Love is a Rich Man might encourage those festival crowds to launch a few pints at the sky, but home listening is the better place for many of these songs, which reveal their layers when given close attention.
It remains the case that almost any Noel song could be improved by having Liam sing it instead. Even so, a lot of this more subtle material works just fine without that snarl.
