Review Summary: 'Dig Out Your Soul' is a success primarily because of its angular approach to not sounding particularly like Oasis.
So, amid throngs of music journalists, the consensus on Oasis is that none of their releases will ever carry as substantial weight as did 'Definitely Maybe' and '(What's The Story) Morning Glory'. Every subsequent release will be put under a spotlight and savaged by pretty much all publications that chastise the band for not replicating former successes. And while Oasis have shown signs of flagging weakness, each album since the overfilled 'Be Here Now' has been a subtle shift away from where they used to be, until we get to 'Dig Out Your Soul'. It revisits the psychedelic influences from the likes of the Verve, the Doors and Revolver-era Beatles combined with even more abstract lyrical ruminations. And 'Dig Out Your Soul' is coherent, and it works: it's the strongest Oasis record in years.
Noel Galagher is amid a creative hotstreak as we get into the album. We start with four gloriously paced stompers: 'Bag It Up', 'The Turning', 'Waiting for the Rapture' and 'The Shock of the Lightning'. On each cut the band dextrously works a pronounced groove, Liam snarls in the way that only he can, and Noel refreshingly opts for a more subversive chorus approach instead of relying on gratuitous terrace chants. That's not say the songs aren't anthemic: the sheer euphoria packed into the refrains of 'The Turning' and 'Rapture' make them equally as intense as two of Oasis' best choruses on 'Live Forever' and 'Champagne Supernova'. 'Dig Out Your Soul' immediately equates itself as a dense, intricate and sprawling effort whereas its predecessor 'Don't Believe the Truth' was spacious, loose and off-the-cuff.
The elder Gallagher's remaining two songs (the bluesy shuffle of 'Get Off Your High Horse Lady' and the spacial rollock of 'Falling Down') are both terrific, and while they have similar reference points to older songs (The Beatles, The Chemical Brothers, The Doors), this isn't a flashback to the hedonistic glory days of the Summer of Britpop, when Oasis were snotty young punks. No, now they're a weathered, more wizened act: Liam still has all his bravado, but distilled with a more sensitive outlook; Noel still has his pride, but he's never tempted to stretch out jams any longer than neccessary. Indeed, 'Dig Out Your Soul' is among the most concise albums of the last 15 years.
And while Liam Gallagher, bassist Andy Bell and guitarist Gem Archer rarely grasp the hem of greatness with their respective tunes, they can still turnover some fine moments. Gem's lone 'To Be Where There's Life', featuring heavy sitars and even heavier bass, ranks as his most enjoyable, most whimsical melody with Oasis. Andy Bell's moment, the terse, rocking 'The Nature of Reality' runs away with itself, and it's poetry ('The Nature of Reality/ Is Pure Subjective Fantasy') strays a little too close to pretention for comfort. Liam, contributing three tunes, establishes himself as a consistent, complex songwriter. 'I'm Outta Time', his finest stately ballad, provides a brief respite on the caterwauling first half, his militaristic 'Soldier On' closes the album fittingly while his 'Ain't Got Nothin' is a fun if inconsequential prowl.
'Dig Out Your Soul' is ultimately a very strong record. Oasis still prove that age old habits of the odd bit of plagiarism die real hard, but it shows them progressing as a whole unit. Of course, it will divide opinion just like every other post-millenial Oasis release, but for fans hankering for a bit of variety or for some great tunes, you'd be hard pressed to go wrong with this one.
