Oasis
Dig Out Your Soul

THE REVIEW

"I'm too old to sit down and write rock 'n roll anymore".

It's hard to find someone still willing to believe that brass face of Noel Gallagher. Indeed, "Don't Believe The Truth," the excellent album that reignited the Mancunian band's star after more of a "popularity crisis" than a truly artistic one, is ultimately considered the most "poppy" work of Oasis: few electric guitars and a lot of melodic sensibility. But with "Dig Out Your Soul," the seventh studio release of England's most famous brothers, the cards are heavily reshuffled.

The riff of "Bag It Up" immediately makes it clear that this time, more than looking at The Beatles, the guys want to push further; it happens then that Noel cites influences not only from the inevitable "beatles," but also from bands like The Pretty Things, The Who, Iggy and his Stooges, and, coming to more recent times, The White Stripes and the friendly Kasabian.

The striped duo from Detroit, for example, makes an appearance (or maybe more) in the three minutes of "Waiting For The Rapture," interpreted with a celestial and impeccable falsetto by Noel himself. "The Turning" harks back to 1997's "Be Here Now" with the addition of a particularly fitting piano in the verse and a finale taken directly from "Dear Prudence." "The Shock Of The Lightning" is a typical Oasis piece with a sprinkle of Primal Scream, "I'm Outta Time" is the classic piece that the Mancunians manage to pull out in every album (little detail, this piano and voice wonder is written by a particularly inspired Liam) and contains a part of the last interview John Lennon gave before being killed. "(Get Off Your) High Horse Lady" is the strangest thing ever to come out of the elder Gallagher's pen (a pounding and intense blues stomp dating back to the "Heathen Chemistry" sessions), while "Falling Down" sounds like a krautrock piece redone by Coldplay and "To Be Where There's Life" sounds like the perfect mixing of "Supersonic" and "Who Feels Love?". After the negligible hard rock of "Ain't Got Nothin'" and the pleasant guitar freestyling of "The Nature Of Reality," it ends with an undulating "Soldier On," included on the album at the suggestion of friends The Coral (noteworthy is an unusual Noel on drums).

Oasis convincingly excel in this newer more rock/psychedelic attire and less "sneaky," confirming the rule that wants a big change after the release of a best of ("Stop The Clocks," released in 2006).

Will the new sound of the Gallagher brothers even attract some detractors? We'll see...

Key Tracks: "Waiting For The Rapture", "I'm Outta Time", "(Get Off Your) High Horse Lady", "Falling Down"