Next year Oasis will celebrate the 30th anniversary of their eight-times platinum-selling debut album, Definitely Maybe. When I say celebrate, I doubt there’ll be a party – given the fractious state of the Gallagher brothers’ relationship – but I assume that in their separate, swanky southern mansions, the siblings will break out some booze and cigarettes (Liam still smokes and Noel is rumoured to have stashed more than £30,000 worth of dressing room fags since quitting five years ago). Meanwhile, Gen Xers having palpitations over how many decades it’s been since they first bawled along to “Live Forever” at the indie disco can soothe their souls with Council Skies: the mature and melodic fourth album from Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.
It’s an easygoing and expansive record, which finds Gallagher relaxing into his knack for big, bittersweet tunes. His whole band is playing for the first time (usually, mostly it’s just him) and the communal spirit generates a new sense of space. Emotions soar and swoop, while the rhymes roll predictably into place. “Gonna write you a song/ Won’t take me long...” croons the 56-year-old Britpopper on the lovely, lullsome “Dead to the World”. It’s a dreamy ode to feeling nothing and giving up, and one that Gallagher (who announced his split from second wife Sara MacDonald in January) described as autobiographical. “If love ain’t enough to make it alright,” he sighs over the gentle strum of his acoustic guitar. “It’s too bad.” The bass line swings low as a pendulum while his ennui is lifted by a gently shaken maraca and the warm thermals of a Parisian street cafe accordion. Even Liam likes “Dead to the World”, having tweeted: “How can such a mean spirited little man write such a beautiful song?”
