Oasis - 'Don't Believe The Truth' (Big Brother)
4/5
By: Matt Tomiak
It's not just the return of the band's old logo on the cover art which recalls the halcyon days of the mid-90s. Over a decade on since era-defining debut 'Definitely Maybe', and Oasis have returned with a record that keeps pace with the Britpop recordings. There's a drive and a purpose about 'DBTT'; exactly what was missing amongst the worst of the bloated excesses of 'Be Here Now' and the slapdash, half-hearted nature of much if 2000's career-low 'Standing on The Shoulder of Giants.' Hell, even the songs that Liam wrote are good.
Whilst it would be pushing things to describe this as an 'experimental' LP, there is certainly a willingness to deviate from what might ordinarily be expected of the band. Sure, there are moments that Alan Partridge might well describe as 'textbook' Oasis. The album opens with one of them: the Andy Bell-penned 'Turn Up The Sun', a thunderous, exhilaratingly primal stomper in which Liam's request that we all 'love one another' still manages like to sound like an offer of physical violence. Much like its close relative, the lead-off single 'Lyla', it's just like old times: poised, pugnacious and ready to cock a sneer and two-fingered salute at anything and anyone that gets in its way. It's more than just a promising start.
Next up is the remarkable 'Mucky Fingers' - a Noel-sung track that foregoes formulaic acoustic ploddery in favour of mad-eyed, garage-tinged drone rock. Indeed, the occasions on which Gallagher senior takes lead vocals here are intriguing: 'Part Of The Queue' melds Badly Drawn Boy's 'Once Around The Block' with the lyrical introspection of the classic Shack album 'HMS Fable'. 'The Importance of Being Idle' draws upon more conventional sources - latter-period Beatles, The Kinks - but contains some of the most tellingly self-aware lyrics ('I begged my doctor for one more line/He said 'Son, words fail me') of the band's career.
For those Oasis fans who still come out in a cold sweat at the mention of 'Little James', the songwriting efforts of Gallagher the Younger will serve as a welcome treat. 'Love Like A Bomb' is this album's 'Songbird', a nimble, breezy three-minute number which resembles nothing so much as The La's 'Way Out'. 'The Meaning of Soul', meanwhile, channels the straightforward spirit of The Stones' 'Not Fade Away' to fine effect, and 'Guess God Thinks I'm Abel' is just about the nearest thing to a pure pop on the whole record.
The album falters slightly towards the end, moving into somewhat generic Oasis territory with the 'Revolver'-aping 'Keep The Dream Alive' and the rudimentary 'A Bell Will Ring' and 'Let There Be Love', but even the latter manages to appeal with those most famous of rock siblings reuniting for a final duet that builds into a 'Hey Jude'-ish crescendo.
When it comes to Oasis, getting around the bullshit is never going to be easy. That their sixth studio album is strong enough to plough through the ongoing soap opera of drink, drugs, inter-band squabbling, punch-ups, celebrity marriages and even Liam's decision to wear shorts on stage (a heinous sartorial crime in Noel's eyes, apparently) is perhaps the biggest accolade imaginable.
Artists in this article: Oasis
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