Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

Oasis has always been hit and miss for me.  I like most of the singles, but I can't sit through a whole album.  When the split happened, I could have cared less.  I listened to Beady Eye (Liam's band) and I was completely underwhelmed.

I expected this to album to be a non-event.  The worst thing you can be in music, something that I have heard before that brings nothing new to the table.

I am pleasantly surprised to be wrong on this one.  This is not a ground breaking album taking British music in a new direction.  This is an album put together by an solid songwriter without the distractions of his brother.

It is everything I enjoy in a pop album.  The influences of the Beatles (it is Noel Gallagher after all) along with the Stones up through Blur can be heard throughout the album.  He brings a fresh take to it with good melodies and anthemic hooks.  He also sounds a lot like his brother without the baggage that Liam seems to bring to everything.  As I started listening to it, I realized I am a sucker for this type of music.  With a little reflection, I might even look back on this as a bit of a guilty pleasure.  But for now, I'm just going to enjoy it.