Third outing for Noel and friends is surprising in a good way – even (whisper it) fun.
It feels almost uncharitable to compare Gallagher senior’s third LP with his little brother’s lacklustre debut, wheezing as it was in hand-me-down ditties allied to an increasingly unattractive nasal sneer.
Sure, Noel’s avian troupe hardly break any sonic moulds either, although Who Built The Moon does take steps into new electronic territory, thanks to a “bracing” collaboration with renowned producer and DJ David Holmes.
Aside from his Chemical Brothers dalliance, Noel has never done ‘danceable’ but the pumping She Taught Me How To Fly certainly gets limbs twitching while setting up the psychedelic eddies and whorls that carry through into End Credits (Wednesday Part 2).
Holy Mountain’s irrepressible, infectious energy is actually fun, too, despite sounding like The Courteeners, and this turbo-bounce is carried through to Keep On Reaching.
Holmes has pushed Gallagher towards optimism and ebullience – the airy electro-trance of It’s A Beautiful World sounds like dear Noel channelling Opus III’s It’s A Fine Day and throwing in an Indian raga for fun.
Noel traditionalists fear not – there’s forlorn piano-and-acoustic strummer Dead In The Water and Black & White Sunshine’s so-so ‘60s psych-pop to mop your collective brows.
Rating: 3/5 stars
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