Rating: 2/5 stars
Liam Gallagher is a riot, but not always the fun kind. The former frontman of the well-known British rock band Oasis has spent the past couple of years blasting content across social media, promoting his material and hurling insults at his more prolific older brother, Noel, on Twitter.
The 45-year-old boasts an impressive 2.3 million followers. Aside from his popularity on the internet, the infamously abrasive rock icon has not been in the limelight much as of late. Following Noel’s departure from Oasis in 2009, Gallagher and the remaining members of the band became Beady Eye, releasing two full-length albums in the span of five years. They disbanded in 2014 following an announcement from Gallagher over Twitter. Now, he finds himself pursuing a solo career, which might be for the best, considering his rotten reputation working with other people.
He seems determined to fix his public image, one that had been steamrolled once Oasis collapsed.
“I’m starting from the bottom again,” Gallagher told Esquire magazine, recounting the “hail of smashed guitars and thrown fruit” that brought everything to a halt.
His volatile behavior on the internet has not ended (there was an altercation between him and Noel on Oct. 8), but his crude behavior on stage mostly has. On his new album, “As You Were,” the audience sees a version of Gallagher where most of the wrinkles have been ironed out, and they see an artist who seems ready to sound and act more professional.
“Wall of Glass” kicks the album off as a rough-around-the-edges rock ballad that tirelessly pounds away with a distorted guitar and a harmonica. Gallagher’s voice has not changed, as he sings “one day you’ll shatter like a wall of glass” over the wailing guitar leads. It is a catchy song that makes the rest of the album feel very promising, but unfortunately, that hope fades away quickly.
“Hope” repeats the same stale sound of strumming guitars found on the last track, and the chorus does not bring anything new to the table. “Greedy Soul” follows suit, sounding eerily similar to the songs played before it. What feels refreshing at first slowly starts to chip away, and with each boring chorus and uninspired hook, Gallagher starts to sound more like a one-trick pony.
“When I’m In Need” changes up the sound and feels like one of the more thought-out tracks on the album, with a relatively strong chorus and a nice, energetic finish. After that song runs its course, the listener gets another dose of four to five identical rock tunes, where Gallagher’s tough guy attitude starts to seem more forced than ever. Most of the tracks on “As You Were” are absolutely loaded with energy. The problem lies in the fact that Gallagher does not do anything interesting with that energy. Instead, he lets it drill into his audience’s head for four to five minutes before abruptly ending it and moving on to the next song.
Arguably the best parts of the album are when he finally lets up, writing a more emotional ballad, but those often end up being lackluster and uninspired.
At the end of the day, “As You Were” is not doing much. It blends into a sea of average rock albums that have been around for years and does not do a lot to stand out on its own. If Gallagher wants to be the better brother, he needs to start releasing better music, too.
Photo: Liam Gallagher via YouTube.com
