Album Review: Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - 'Council Skies'
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds add the brilliant new album ‘Council Skies’ to what has become an extremely successful discography.
The former Oasis frontman and his band have enjoyed success with their previous releases, and the new album is set to produce similar results. The opening number ‘I’m Not Giving Up Tonight’ is a brilliant re-introduction as to where the group are at in 2023, it’s a carefully crafted track with beautiful demonstrations of the qualities on=f the band in its entirety, as opposed to solely focussing on the star frontman. The group work together in perfect harmony to achieve a steady-paced but brilliant track. It has a real feel of triumph, especially with its use of brass instruments towards the tail end of the track. It’s the ideal opening song for a record, as it’s a brilliant re-introduction to the musical life of the band.
The band, formed after the breakup of Oasis, have enjoyed the success of three UK number 1 albums, and this success is no coincidence. ‘Council Skies’ matches the quality of the previous releases by Noel and his High Flying Birds. This quality was felt by fans with the singles released before this record. One of those singles comes as the second track on the record. ‘Pretty Boy’ had become popular with fans right from its release and the track seems even better when listened to amongst the rest of the album. It follows the pace created in the opening number, and in this one, Noel Gallagher himself really does take centre stage with a brilliant vocal performance. The track has a chorus that is sure to be a hit live, with its brilliant catchiness. Not to be overlooked, though, is the simply magnificent bassline that drives the chorus of the track. It really ramps the track up.
Noel Gallagher, in interview, stated “I was just reflecting on how I’d got to where I’d got to and I had a lot of time to sit and think about it. It’s a reflective album, more than anything”. There are real moments of this reflection on the record. One salient instance of this comes on the track ‘Dead To The World’, which has an instrumental section, and it really does feel like music that has been accompanied by deep thought and it is the perfect embodiment of what the frontman is talking about. The track is perfect as a number for reflection, and about reflection. It’s undeniably superb.
Straight from this we get ‘Open The Door, See What You Find’ which would not sound out of place on a late Oasis album. This track, once again, feels triumphant and is a real performance of just how strong the band are. Once again, there is an emphasis on instruments that create this feel, violins, bells ETC. It’s brilliant and is a demonstration of the variety on show within the record. The chorus feels as though it would be ideal for the opening of a show. It builds up musically with Noel singing “Open the door, see what you find. Don’t look away”. This one is sure to be a hit at live dates.
The group have a run of UK arena shows lined up, with one in late August, and the rest in December. Fans will truly be treated when Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Bird’s take to the stage with their new material. There are tracks on ‘Council Skies’ which are almost certainly going to be colossal hits with fans, new and old. One of which is the title track ‘Council Skies’, which was a single that preceded the record. After a brilliant performance of it for BBC Radio 2’s ‘Piano Room’, fans are sure to love this one. Noel Gallagher said, on the track, that it “is about trying to find young love on a council estate, something of which I can speak with fairly heavy authority.” It feels such a sincere number and it is the perfect title track.
After this, comes the final four tracks. ‘There She Blows!’, ‘Love Is A Rich Man’, ‘Think Of A Number’ and ‘We’re Gonna Get There In The End’. All of which are superb, but the one which seems to really stand out from the rest is ‘Love Is A Rich Man’. Beginning with Stone Roses-esque drums, the track throws listeners straight into what is an almighty track. The lyrics about love being a rich man are so clever, and carefully crafted. This is perfectly paired with yet another exquisite musical display.
The final number ‘We’re Gonna Get There In The End’ closes out the record in the same triumphant style that it was opened. It concludes what is a brilliant and unique album. Noel Gallagher and his High Flying Birds have smashed it out of the park with ‘Council Skies’.
Words by Matthew Caslin
