We all know of course that no matter how slavishly the public illusion of democracy is made, the impetus, the literal core of Oasis is however Our kid and Our kid jr. Whatever their personal circumstances now - at 41, Noel appears more than willing to make the male menopause, or temperance another man's problem, whilst the former enfant terrible Liam now rises at 6am every day before running eight miles on Hampstead Heath - it's the Gallaghers which continue to make the only case for relevance. The brothers share songwriting credits on Dig Out YOur Soul's remaining nine tracks - that means you understand that Noel wrote six and Liam wrote three, not that they shared the process - and whilst it's far from a creative duel, each has their own thing to bring.
Perhaps more is riding on Dig Out Your Soul than anyone connected to the band would publicly care to admit. Their legacy is probably now enshrined in immortality, inspiring countless back bedroom groups to form and then fizzle, but this stellar impact is now like something cryogenically frozen. All music is cyclical by influence of course, but it's difficult even now to hear any of their legions of acolytes citing an Oasis track from this millenium as the reason they first plugged in an amp.
The elder sibling appears to have won the battle of track sequencing. We open with "Bag It Up", a growling, opiate soaked slice of garage psychedelia which sets the tone for what is obviously a record hermetically sealed from hipster trends and retro white noise chic. This is indeed something else. The first smack of genius arrives soon after as "The Turning" breaks on a gliding wave of piano, Noel making exhortations to us to "rise up from your soul" whilst a quiet-loud groove sets the tone for the most confident sound they've worn in years.
At times, you can forgive the hype and actually believe their self belief, especially on single "Shock of The Lightning", a thumping - there's no other word for it and it embodies that word in every sense - headbanger which recaptures the essence of the Burnage Rock and Roll Stars before they were. At the other end of the scale "High Horse" - a hangover from the Heathen Chemistry sessions - is a gutsy blues, with Noel's distorted vocals twisting against a stop-start backdrop. Elsewhere "Falls Down" refines proceedings with gentler, organ rendered atmospheres and is sublimely less anthemic, echoing his turn on the Chemical Brother's "Setting Sun".
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