Heathen Chemistry

If history has taught us anything at all, it’s that we should always be extremely wary of any grand claims the Gallagher brothers may make for their most recent album.

Truth be told, the band haven’t made a thoroughly great record since 1996, and it’s the tabloids not the tunes, that have burnished their reputation as one of the biggest rock ’n’ roll bands on the planet.

They know this themselves, of course, and on this outing appear to have adopted a more matter of fact, no-nonsense approach to their art. No great claims, just simple straightforwardness and direct honesty. From the way they’ve been talking in their recent interviews, they’re getting older, wiser and somewhat more mature. Or maybe just doing a lot less charlie. Whatever it is, they’ve certainly chilled out on the wild claims. As Liam told hotpress recently, “We’re just simple rock ‘n’ roll music for people who drink beer and who just fucking want to put their arms around each other and have a good time.”

Fair enough. And for the most part, that’s what this album is – simple rock ‘n’ roll music, best heard whilst drunk and with your mates. However, although the sonic surprises are few and far between, it’s not simpleton rock ‘n’ roll music either. They’ve been doing this for more than a decade now, and they’re well capable of delivering the goods when they put their minds to it; and they do, with the result that they’re still sounding a lot more melodic and tuneful here than they have in years.

Songwriting duties have been spread around this time, with Liam contributing three songs, and Gem Archer (formerly of Heavy Stereo) and Alan Bell (Ride and Hurricane #1) one each. Archer’s back to basics effort ‘Hung Out To Dry’ actually sounds like it could’ve been an out-take from the Definitely Maybe sessions, while Bell’s ‘A Quick Peep’ is just that – a tuneful instrumental ditty that inoffensively fills up just seventy seconds of album time, but doesn’t really do much else.

Liam’s lyrical offerings don’t exactly put him up there with Bacharach, but they’re good nonetheless. Although light, the melodic ‘Songbird’ ably demonstrates that he has a - gasp! - sensitive side, while I can’t wait to hear him do the obvious stadium ballad ‘Born On A Different Cloud’ live at Wittnness. Album-closer ‘Better Man’ could’ve been, em, better. Still, two out of three ain’t bad.

As always, it’s elder sibling Noel who comes up with the real goods. Album opener and first single ‘The Hindu Times’ you probably already know as being one of the best things Oasis have done in a very long time. The second track ‘Force Of Nature’ opens with a musical nod to Iggy Pop’s ‘Nightclubbing’, and sounds suspiciously like Noel having a go at someone close to him (or someone who used to be!) with its accusatory lyric (“You’re smoking all my stash/Burning all my cash”) and bitter refrain (“It’s all over town/That the sun’s going down/On the days of your easy life”).

Thankfully, he seems to be experiencing joy to balance the pain, if the beautiful ‘She Is Love’ is anything to go by. The polar opposite of ‘Forces Of Nature’, the song is… well, quite lovely. As charmingly simple as love songs get (“I don’t know where you come from/I haven’t got a clue/All I know is I’m in love/With someone who loves me too”), the Beatles themselves would’ve been proud to call it their own. ‘Stop Crying Your Heart Out’, meanwhile, is this album’s ‘Wonderwall’ – and almost deserves to be as big a hit.

So Heathen Chemistry is a reasonably good album then, undoubtedly the best Oasis have made in years.There’s enough on offer here to give fresh hope that there may be lots of life in the young dogs yet.