Music Review: Beady Eye – ‘BE’

For all you Oasis fans, Liam Gallagher’s Beady Eye returns to go through the routine of developing rock anthems on sophomore album BE, starting with the opening horns on “Flick Of The Finger,” which has a plodding verse buildup that feels like Oasis-lite. Not a bad tune, but without a big payoff in the chorus, it fails to generate real excitement. Unlike the enjoyable debut LP Different Gear, Still Speeding, the production here sounds too clean and antiseptic. So the next tune on BE, “Soul Love,” drones on like a long song intro, instead of a fully complete tune.

“Second Bite Of The Apple,” written by Gem Archer, rips off the rhythm from the Zombies’ “Time Of The Season,” but overall settles into a solid psyche-pop groove. Gallagher acknowledges his limitations and strengths here, but the pounding drums and “wall of sound” on “Iz Rite” is a great tune that’ll please Oasis fans. Producer Dave Sitek (of TV on The Radio) keeps things clean with a minimum of gloss through a bevy of 17 songs. Some songs feel rushed, such as “I’m Just Saying,” which uses a nonsensical countdown in the chorus. The somber ballad “Start Anew” starts with such promise: “We’ve got the whole world in our hands” builds to a big finish, but all we get is “yeah, yeah yeah.” It’s extremely underwhelming.

However, there are gems found amongst the muck. Deluxe/Japanese edition bonus tracks (respectively) “The World’s Not Set In Stone” and “Evil Eye” are worth the price of admission here. With BE, the band expands upon the sound their first album set up, with less garage rawness and more fresh-sounding psychedelic elements and while it is somewhat of a patchwork, fans of Oasis will take it in with open arms (and ears). The album was released last month and can be purchased in digital and physical form, as well as an import.