Everything’s Electric for Liam Gallagher

Former Oasis front-man Liam Gallagher has returned to the music scene with the release of his third studio album, ‘C’mon You Know’. Produced by longtime collaborators Andrew Wyatt and Greg Kurstin, we see the aging rock-star coming to terms with life as it stands. Its release marked just more than a week before Gallagher took the stage for two nights at England’s Knebworth Park, where he previously played to over a quarter million of fans in 1996. Needless to say: the pressure is on.

If Liam Gallagher is worried, he sure isn’t showing it. The album is handed the baton of its predecessors: modernizing rock n’ roll. “All these people that go out and do something different,” Gallagher told the NME, “good for them and all that, but if I like something, I just stick with it.” This both eats away and feeds the album as a whole. Lead single, ‘Everything’s Electric’, wouldn’t feel out of place on an early Oasis record. It was co-written with Dave Grohl, lead singer of Foo Fighters, and everything about it is, as you may have been able to guess: electric. Songs like these shine and add something new to the growing Gallagher catalog, as he even uses his seldom seen falsetto. The melancholy ‘Too Good For Giving Up’ is a ballad that’ll surely pull you off the floor in a dark hour. ‘Diamond In The Dark’, a surprise single released just a day before the album, stood out to me immediately. It includes a hypnotic, raw groove that seemingly introduces us to a ‘pop’-ier side of what Liam Gallagher can bring to the table. Influences echo throughout the entire record, too. He does his best Sex Pistols voice on non-single ‘I’m Free’ and echoes the main groove of The Beatles’ iconic ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ on ‘Better Days’. ‘More Power’, the opening song, stood out as well, with its tragicomic, ‘Truman Show’-esque lyrics and children’s choir. “Is this what you came for?” Liam asks, as the children sing of his abusive childhood and ongoing sibling rivalry. Explosive bonus track, ‘The Joker’, is just as powerful and is a call to arms for vengeance. The downfall of Liam’s vocal ability has been debated ever since the release of ‘Wonderwall’, but songs like these just prove you can’t keep the man down. 

Where there is nothing new, we are left with crumbs of Oasis’ past: not Liam Gallagher’s. ‘World’s In Need’, written by Liam himself, plays as a cookie-cutter version of his contributions to later albums in his former band’s catalog. It’s repetitively simple and filled with empty preaches (minus that impressive string section). Because of this, a few songs on the record leave me feeling cheated. The aforementioned ‘Better Days’ features a chorus consisting of only three words: “believe me, yeah!”. With five songwriters credited, you’d think someone would have remembered to bring more pencil lead that day. ‘Oh Sweet Children’ is weirdly similar in theme to ‘Too Good For Giving Up’. I can only let Gallagher sermonize for so long before it starts to feel like a script rather than a lyric. ‘Wave’, another bonus track, features Liam embarrassingly chanting the word “happen” until we’re brought to another verse. It also undercuts everything great about ‘More Power’, with an unmerited mention of his brother once again. ‘Moscow Rules’ is sure to be heavily featured in your next indie film soundtrack, though I can’t blame Liam’s team for experimenting with a different style. ‘It Was Not Meant To Be’ is definitely the biggest ear-sore, though, with its fortuitous, carnival-like sound that would only mix well with popcorn and a carousel. 

As it became Liam Gallagher’s fourth solo UK number one album, ‘C’mon You Know’ seems to have done the trick for many people, myself included. In truth, no, I don’t believe it matches up to its precursors. His solo debut, 2017’s ‘As You Were’, is very close to a perfect record. It has an attitude and a need to survive. ‘C’mon You Know’ lacks those personable traits I enjoy, but as the man himself claims, it’s all a “formula”.  I’d only recommend this record to those familiar with the sound, look, and style of both Liam Gallagher and Oasis, as newcomers might feel like they’re watching ‘Avengers: Endgame’ without even having seen ‘Iron Man’. There are definitely standouts and great sounds, but I’m curious to see just how long Liam Gallagher can go before ultimately leaving the past behind. The Oasis star won’t fade for many moons to come. Either way, who’s left on top of the world? Come on, you know!