Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds - Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds [Album Review]

Though I wouldn’t class myself as a big fan of Oasis – I only have a passing interest in their music, but ‘The Importance of Being Idle’ is one of the best songs of the last decade – I was significantly impressed by the two singles cut from Noel’s first solo release since the mad Mancunians split up to pick up a copy of his almost eponymous, self-titled album.

I will apologise for the multiple references back to Oasis during the review but, as you would tell from listening to it, it doesn’t take a massive departure from what has come before it, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but this is definitely an Oasis album without the other chap from Oasis or some of the session musicians.

The opening track ‘Everybody’s On The Run’ starts like several tracks of the album as if the band are getting ready to perform, in this case including a cough which is an intriguing way to start an album. Appearing on first listen to be the sister track to Oasis’ ‘Stop Crying Your Heart Out’, at least thematically, it benefits from a good musical introduction and a marching beat, all designed to kick the album off well but, as expected, not really escaping the shadow of Oasis. The addition of an atmospheric string section really makes this a B+ track to kick the album off with.

Continuing the live session feel, ‘Dream On’ starts with a countdown and is a pleasing guitar-strumming track with a determined foot-tapping beat, but not quite up to the opener, though still sounding like it was made in the mould of his former band. The song is let down, however, by an annoying repetitive end that shows a good minute could have been shaved off the running time.

‘If I Had A Gun’ starts off as if Noel was going to play ‘Wonderwall’ from his back catalogue but changes his mind, to deliver a track that is more about the lyrics than necessarily the music. Compared to the previous tracks, it doesn’t have the catchiness of the first two but the ‘aah’ sections, for want of a better onomatopoeic word, compliment the more complex, free-flowing, verses naturally. Not the best track on the first listen, though, and a questionable first US single.

‘The Death of You and Me’ – the first single from the album in the UK – is the first thing that inspired me to get the album and returns to the quality of the first track. Again kicking off with a countdown, it’s a track that’s musically polished with Noel embracing a falsetto, with a bridge and chorus that add to the appeal. It’s well deserving of being the first single with a great humming middle section that really adds something to the piece. It’s a marching, but hit that doesn’t outstay its welcome as the second shortest on the ten-track LP. I would have liked to have heard more from the track on the album but what is there in its three-thirty running time is excellent.

‘(I Wanna Live In A Dream In My) Record Machine’ bleeds in from the previous track with the sound of kids playing, abandoning the live session feel of the previous transitions to something more produced and flowing. The track is more balladic with persistent percussion and a slower pace overall, with added strings and a rhyming hook that grabs you, taking you happily to the half way point of an album that seems to be speeding by, even though it comes in at a respectable forty-two minutes. On this song there’s enough time to throw in a guitar solo section and the song comes to a cracking end with a cacophony of sound that makes the track stand out on the album.

‘AKA ... What A Life’, titled as if he couldn’t think of a better name, continues the theme of the bleeding transitions, giving the album a slicker feel in the second half. The best song on the album with catchy vocals and drums, and a very memorable chorus, this is destined to be one of the biggest tunes of the years critically if not necessarily commercially. It ends on a lower-key finish but it’s the instrumental and bombastic nature of the song that wins through.

‘Soldier Boys and Jesus Freaks’ is another song there for the lyrics, but with no real hook to grab onto, even if the track marches on relentless. A good track but nothing special in comparison to the other tracks on the album.

‘AKA... Broken Arrow’ is a more up-tempo track with a refreshingly different sounding Noel Gallagher, with a trademark catchy chorus and a fast-paced guitar backing track, and easily a contender for single number three.

‘(Stranded On) The Wrong Beach’ is another great track, appearing now as the album heads for its closure, with a sense of familiarity that I can’t place. But it’s a good track on its own with an uptempo feel and enjoyable beat. Plus any song with the instrumental of ‘musical wine glasses’ credited to it can’t really be a failure.

The album then comes to an end with the Oasis demo track ‘Stop the Clocks’ which finally gets recorded and released here, after a failed appearance on ‘Don’t Believe The Truth’ and lending its name to the Britpop act’s greatest hits compilation. It’s a reflective and sombre end to an album with a church-like feel to the music. Ironically it’s the least Oasis sounding track on the album and a pleasing enough closer for the end of an album with a nod to the past and an acknowledgement of what came before, and led to, the creation of this album.

Overall the album is worth picking up on the basis of the two singles alone and there’s more to enjoy amongst the other eight tracks. Don’t expect a massive shift from the work of Oasis but enjoy what is here.

[7/10]