BE

In the lead up to this release, Beady Eye’s Liam Gallagher made yet another bold claim.

BE, he said, was the album Oasis should’ve made after (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?.

But for once, there’s a little truth behind the bravado.

That’s because on BE, Beady Eye (aka Oasis without the elder Gallagher) does something Oasis never really did – experiment.

To expand their horizons for the follow up to 2011’s Different Gear, Still Speeding, Beady Eye teamed up with TV On The Radio’s Dave Sitek. He proves to be an inspired choice.

Of all the tracks here, it’s “Flick Of The Finger” that best showcases Beady Eye Mk II.

The album opener is an optimistic call to arms and hopefully a signpost of things to come. It features an aggressive horn section, eerie synths and the key lyric, “the future gets written today”.

Further along, the Liam-penned “Don’t Brother Me” could’ve been an olive branch to Noel if it weren’t for a few snarky one-liners.

“Always in the sun, with your number one,” Liam snarls before adding, “sick of all your lying, scheming and your crying”.

But later he seems keen to bury the hatchet. “In the morning, I’ll be calling and hoping you’ll understand,” Gallagher croons until a spacey lengthy instrumental outro.

Other highlights include the bluesy, slow-burner “Soon Come Tomorrow”, closing ballad “Start Anew”, and “Soul Love”, a dark, atmospheric song Oasis would’ve never recorded in their pomp.

Still, the album is let down down by a few clunkers.

Forgettable rocker “Face The Crowd” is all swagger and no substance while the campfire strummer “Ballroom Figured” is more b-side material than anything else.

Regardless, BE is imbued with a sense of discovery and adventure, something recent Gallagher releases have sorely missed.

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