Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
Council Skies

It took four albums for good old Noel to find a definitive solo groove, and it seems he has found it with this new "Council Skies."

Ironically, the latest creation from the ever-sharp ex-Oasis is the most "band-like" sounding of his entire post-Oasis songbook. Whether it's the presence of former adventure mates Chris Sharrock and Gem Archer (former drummer and guitarist of the beloved Mancunian band, respectively), or a more collaborative attitude from the grumpy elder Gallagher, the fact is that (aided by the presence of a heavyweight like Johnny Marr, on guitar in no less than three tracks) we are talking about Noel's most cohesive record since he embarked on his solo path.

Putting aside the sonic deviations of the previous (and successful) "Who Built The Moon?" and assigning co-production work to his old collaborator Paul "Strangeboy" Stacey (certainly much less invasive and more conservative than the volcanic David Holmes), Gallagher returns to a more classic sound anchored in his past, also helped by a certain nostalgia that also emerges from the pleasant album cover, a black and white signed by the great Mancunian photographer Kevin Cummins depicting the exact spot where the Maine Road stadium stood. Noel himself spoke of a return to the origins, also citing a book by Pete McKee as a source of inspiration for the title of the work.

And the songs? They're there, and as always, they're constructed and performed impeccably. Obviously, there are no accelerations a la "Definitely Maybe" (we are, after all, talking about a middle-aged rock star), although a more vital and energetic sound pleasantly surfaces here and there, as in the lead single "Pretty Boy" (blatantly and openly in "A Forest" territory by The Cure), in the fifth single "Open The Door, See What You Find" (Marr on the six-string and an arrangement that wouldn't look out of place on a late Oasis album), and in the title track, cleverly positioned between the Smiths and the Police with a characteristically noel-like melody in the vital refrain.

The older brother truly shines in the ballads, never so dark as in this work (perhaps helped by the divorce from his wife Sarah McDonald); we are talking about the true masterpiece of the album, "Dead To The World," a wrenching snapshot for acoustic guitar embellished with harmonica and a delicate string section, and the already published demo "Try To Find A World That’s Been And Gone (Part 1)," a sort of Champagne Supernova for modern times, airy and reflective.

If the album starts with the delicate "I'm Not Giving Up Tonight," a link with the previous studio work (formerly titled "Daisies," it was discarded and then reworked for voice, guitar, and horns for the new album) and centers around the super single "Easy Now," a sort of updated epic reinterpretation of the old "Little By Little," it closes with a trio of slightly more sustained and compact tracks, from the evident homage to the La's in "There She Blows!" to the syncopated "Love Is A Rich Man" (the ghost of Bowie always present), concluding with the album’s other masterpiece "Think Of A Number."

Noel delivers yet another masterstroke in his career, as we wait to see what the future holds, with the younger brother declaring he already has a new album ready and an Oasis reunion called for by everyone that seems increasingly distant.

Best song: Dead To The World