Album of the Week: Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds Chasing Yesterday

Noel Gallagher is one grumpy sod.

He's a well-documented grumbler, taking shots at everyone from his brother Liam to artistsof all stripes, and at 47 he doesn't show any signs of stopping (check out this interview Rolling Stone if you doubt me).

That was fine, funny even, during Oasis' early run, when the band churned out three fantastic albums in a row, but as their quality steadily dipped – leading to their eventual dissolution in 2009 – his braggadocio started sounding much more like bitterness. Nostalgia has always been a key part of the sound he helped create with Oasis, and their influences run the classic rock gamut – The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, a little Kinks and some Stone Roses thrown in for good measure.

All of this makes Chasing Yesterday the perfect title for Gallagher's second solo effort as Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds – in a way, this is a pursuit he's always been on, whether he wanted to admit it or not. And while he isn't shy about flaunting his influences on the album, he's expanded his sound and stepped (for a time) away from the arena rock he has down pat.

Gallagher brings out the Beatles references early – the first lyrics on opener "Riverman" are "There's something in the way she moves me to distraction" – like he's trolling the listener and critics alike. If anyone is going to bring up the Beatles, he seems to be saying, he's going to do it first. It's a self-aware move that shows, to me anyway, a bit of Gallagher's sense of humor about how he's perceived. Or, it could be because he really loves "Something" – who doesn't, after all?

The best song here is the album's second track, "In the Heat of the Moment." The song channels everything Oasis did best – the catchy riff and the chorus that just about begs to be shouted out at the top of your lungs. It's classic in the best sense of the word, because he adds some flair that you'd never have heard on an Oasis track before – ringing bells and female backing vocals that add a bit of doo-wop to the vibe.

I've always been a sucker for Oasis' slow songs, and Gallagher delivers a lovely little ballad with "The Dying of the Light," a song that name-checks the famous Dylan Thomas poem over a tinkling piano line and acoustic guitars straight out of "Wonderwall."

Perhaps the most complete culmination of Gallagher's influences comes on "While the Song Remains the Same." The Zeppelin reference aside, it features some of John Paul Jones' ambient exploration as it unfolds, and more than a bit of Keith Richards' guitar shuffle.                    

Gallagher's tastes have certainly grown in the past few years, or else he's more confident in letting some of his alt-rock leanings show. "The Right Stuff" is cribbed from The Bends era Radiohead, with a little early Coldplay tossed in on the bass line. "Riverman" features a saxophone solo near the end that wouldn't feel out of place on a Pink Floyd album. And "You Know We Can't Go Back" features the same driving beat that helped to make LCD Soundsystem's "All My Friends" the best song of the 21^st century. Even if Gallagher doesn't write lyrics with half the wit and heartbreak James Murphy does, it's still an immediately infectious song that gets into your head and just rattles around there.

Gallagher isn't exactly breaking the mold with Chasing Yesterday, but he's also not content to make the same sounding song over and over. There aren't many artists willing to explore new sources and sonics looking down the barrel of 50, and even if the results don't always soar, it is refreshing to hear Gallagher give it a go. He has yesterday firmly in hand – now he needs to go after tomorrow.

Chasing Yesterday is out on Sour Mash