Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Chasing Yesterday

You have to give it to the guy in that throughout his career he has remained consistent.  Meaning you know what you are going to get from Noel Gallagher. He has always been outspoken, self-centered and hard to get along with. A man who is only looking to please himself. Nothing has changed in his post Oasis years. From the name of the singer/guitarist’s latest band to his insistence on it that he will not be getting back together with his former band, the man remains true to his perennial burr under the saddle personality. If you don’t like it keep away as time has not softened the man. Gallagher has also remained consistent with the sound and tone of his music. The lyrics are quite wry and tongue in cheek with the sound harkening back to his usual influences like seventies glam, the Beatles, Traffic and bands from his native Manchester like The Smiths (Smiths’ guitarist Johnny Marr even appears on one track, “Ballad of Mighty I”) and Stone Roses. He definitely mines the past for his sound not willing to be pulled into modern trends. This makes everything he does have a classic sound to it. While none of it is original sounding it does manage to resonate and the songs do stay with you. What I did appreciate about this latest effort was the maturity. Less confrontational and more nostalgic is the overall tone. For Noel this is an almost subdued album. Appears as a man who is taking stock of his life.