The media circus that surrounded the sibling rivalry of the Gallagher brothers was fuelled further by the announcement of Noel in 2009 that he was quitting Oasis. Team Noel or team Liam? Everyone had an opinion, and when Liam and the rest of the band formed Beady Eye, pipping Noel to the creative post, the press were like vultures waiting to laugh hysterically and rip apart the offerings of the new set up which many said would surely fail without the sarcasm, sense and guidance of chief song-writer Noel at the helm.
If you hated Oasis then give Different Gear, Still Speeding a wide berth as there are huge similarities, the sampling (some might say ripoff) of retro sounds, the cocky mouthiness of the younger Gallagher brother and of course Liam’s distinctive vocal. But some of the Beady Eye material is lighter – more psychedelic and almost softer (!) offerings that may never have emerged through the ranks of Oasis with Noel standing guard.
The band have collaborated on writing and without the constraints of his older brother, Liam actually sounds energised on many tracks. Aggressive rock-orchestral starter ‘Four Letter Word’ sounds like a score written to accompany a Bond film and has enough familiarity of old-school Oasis so not to scare off any devotees on first listen. ‘Millionaire’ and ‘For Anyone’ channel pop folk of The La’s and catchy ‘The Roller’ sounds so like Lennon you can almost picture Liam wandering around soft focus with a Yoko lookalike, with wee round specs on. And ‘Bring The Light’ – which introduces some boogie woogie Little Richard-esque soul – grabs the attention making you think you would never of heard that on an Oasis record.
Keen to put the past behind him and state that this is a new band, Liam and Beady Eye have succeeded in creating a fresh outlook for themselves and this will be true for anyone listening to this afresh without knowledge of the previous incarnation (eh, not many then). However, there are a couple of tracks that have you hovering your finger of the skip button, but Liam carries with him such a loyal band of followers that Beady Eye will always achieve some degree of success. This album isn’t a classic but the majority of it is an enjoyable listen, which gives a stiff middle finger up to a lot of people desperate for the band to fail.
Is Liam reaching out to Noel in ‘Kill For A Dream’? (“Life’s too short not to forgive…giving it another try”). Who knows. But one thing is for sure, ‘team Liam’ Beady Eye fans won’t care. Love him or hate him, he is entertaining, and a welcome return for the media circus.