For fans of Oasis or Noel Gallagher's solo work, Council Skies acts like a return to form or even a rehash of his past work. It's appreciative on the surface but the majority of the songs on here sound uninspired, flat, and feel like they're just repeating tired formulas until they get stale. The performances just sound so phoned in and sound like he's not fully committing to his full potential at all.
Noel Gallagher was notably one half of the leading songwriting and singing core of Oasis, writing some of the best Brit Pop songs of all time ("Don't Look Back In Anger," anyone???), and also hating the second half of that leadership... his brother Liam Gallagher. We don't have to get into all that decades-long drama (you can just Google search that yourself) but Noel has been quite the busy artist since the iconic band disbanded. Aside from being quoted for his sometimes controversial and often hilarious statements on whatever Liam called him that day on Twitter (possibly a potato, wanker, or something far worse or sillier), Noel has put out quite a consistent catalog of solo material with his band, the High Flying Birds. His self-titled debut with his band, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds in 2011 met with great success and shows that Noel can easily provide creative, iconic anthemic tunes without help from his brother. The follow up, 2015's Chasing Yesterday, is actually a step up in quality in my opinion with some slightly added variation in sound, production, and style. That album rules. The next follow up, 2017's Who Built the Moon? rules even more. It's by far Noel's most creative and adventurous record in his solo career with some excellent influences ranging from psych rock to hip hop to even dream pop. I freaking love this album; this album's the reason why I got into Noel's solo work in the first place. I don't think people give it enough credit. It's by far his most exciting and solidifying venture under the High Flying Birds name to date. He also put out some great cuts on some following EP's ("Black Star Dancing"), along with a greatest hits collection in 2021 titled Back the Way We Came, Vol. 1. It disappointingly does not include "Fort Knox" but I'll give him a pass...
Now it's been six years since his last studio album and he's finally back with another one. Titled Council Skies, Noel seems to ditch the experimentation from his previous album and instead go back to his classic style of the slick anthemic rock that initially put his solo career on track in the first place. For fans of Oasis or Noel's solo work, Council Skies acts like a return to form or even a rehash of his past work. This is for sure a record that will please the fans of old or the fans that certainly never want Noel to change a single thing about his usual style and just keep doing what he's been doing for years. The record itself sounds pretty and decently produced with swaying strings, gentle acoustics in ballads, anthemic choruses, and approachable radio-friendly deliveries. This is what truly frustrates me about Council Skies. The album does have that throwback feel to his debut album that's appreciative on the surface but the majority of the songs on here sound uninspired, flat, and feel like they're just repeating tired formulas until they get stale. Maybe Noel felt inspired when he recorded this album and when he wrote these songs but it just doesn't translate fully on the album.
The majority of the songs do not have the charm, appeal, or originality to warrant repeated listens. I've listened to Council Skies twice now and I honestly feel like I've gotten pretty much everything there is to get out of it. Many of them repeat at nauseam and do not offer anything remotely different or exciting. "Pretty Boy" is arguably his most redundant lead single, which is as straightforward as he could get. The repeated "you tell me that you want it, yeah yeah?" line literally has my eyes rolling so far in the back of my head that I may be blind forever now. "I'm Not Giving Up Tonight" is an opener that Noel could've written in his sleep. I almost fell asleep just by listening to it. The drum break on "Love Is a Rich Man" is too simple and predictable to even listen to all the way through. "Think of a Number" slogs through its agonizingly runtime at nearly six minutes. There are a few cuts in the track listing that have a pulse of creativity and enjoyability that's deserving. "Dead to the World" is a captivating acoustic ballad that's definitely the best song on the entire album by far. The added accordion playing that gently plays in the background is a nice touch. The title track is also great and has an excellent groove, pacing, and hooks. It's the only moment on this album that I thought was actually thrilling. By the time it started playing in the track listing, I was just thinking, "finally!"
Aside from a couple of gems, most of these songs sound so paint by numbers for Noel Gallagher that I really don't have to go in depth with each song. It's the safest record he's ever created and knowing that this is being followed up by his most creative record Who Built the Moon? it's even more frustrating as a fan. It's kind of ironic, really. I still kind of appreciate the attempt here at retaining his familiar sound... but why does the end result have to sound so boring, grey, and redundant? The performances just sound so phoned in and sound like he's not fully committing to his full potential at all. Like I mentioned earlier, if you're a fan who just wants more of the same over and over and over again, then here you go. Listen to Council Skies. You'll enjoy it. But if you're not like that and if you're a listener who wants something equally or more adventurous, exciting, different, and actually kind of daring like his last album... I'm sorry, but Council Skies ain't it folks.
My Rating: 5 / 10
Favorite Songs: "Dead to the World," "Council Skies," "Easy Now"
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