Soul Searching

My relationship with Oasis has been quite similar to their inner band dynamic- often conflicted to the point of breaking, but never to the point where there wasn't a hint of respect buried underneath somewhere. After "Definitely Maybe" and "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?" became two of the founding pillars of my journey into rock and roll in the mid-90s, the general suckiness of "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants" and "Heathen Chemistry" were enough to put me off the band for awhile. It didn't help that the Gallagher brothers were doing lots and lots of fighting and that when they did make statements to the press it was to say things like "Oasis is the greatest living band today" and "Radiohead are rubbish." Yep, consider it sarcasm when I say Oasis was doing everything they could to make me love them in the late 90s and early 00s. In fact, I'll more than happily still call them idiots today, but simultaneously state that they've once again found the right path to musical redemption. Yes, more than 10 years after their slow descent from grace began, Oasis have picked up the pieces of their shattered past and reconnected them to make their strongest record since 1995.

If there was any real indication that Oasis would make an album this strong in this day and age, it came on 2005's amazingly underrated "Don't Believe the Truth." I found plenty to like about that record, though most simply dismissed it as "another notch in Oasis' string of failures." Those that paid close enough attention might've noticed some more mature themes and a tighter grasp on melody compared to the couple records the band released beforehand. For a group that lost their way after reaching massive success in '95, "Don't Believe the Truth" was the first signal Oasis had started to find the light in all that previous darkness once again. You could, if you like, also argue that album title was trying to tell fans to stop thinking the band was washed up because they were now full of life once again.

And so "Dig Out Your Soul" represents the follow through of what was only hinted at on "Don't Believe the Truth." What we get on this new record is a darker, heavier, more diverse and by all means a much more mature Oasis. They're flexing their psychedelia muscle once again, which they haven't done (well) in about 10 years, and all of it makes for a remarkably engaging and fulfilling record. If you ignored "Be Here Now" and every other Oasis record since then, this would mark the perfect follow up to "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?" even if the difference between 1998 and 2008 is semi-apparent today. And though it may be backwards-looking, there's been very little of Oasis' sound rooted in the present. Most all of their records point directly towards an unflinching obsession with The Beatles, and I suppose if there's a band you're looking to do an homage to, the "greatest band of all time" (as many would argue) is certainly a model to strive towards. Though the Gallagher brothers may refuse to acknowledge it, they're never going to reach the pinnacle The Beatles did. In terms of making songs cut from the same cloth though, "Dig Out Your Soul" may be Oasis' closest stab at reaching that Beatles high mark. It's an achievement to be proud of, though it'd make me feel a lot better if Liam and Noel didn't realize it, because their egos are already completely out of control.

My natural instinct tells me to smack Oasis with a newspaper, much like you might handle a dog who steals your steak off the counter. Yet they've made so many poor albums in the past 10 years one might think a lesson would be learnt by now. Here they are yet again, flaunting their genius in the press and practically claiming they're the Second Coming. From where I'm standing, they're just really, really lucky. Much like the movie "Cinderella Man," in which Russell Crowe plays an aging and formerly great boxer suddenly thrust back into the spotlight after so many years away, Oasis are back in a big way on "Dig Out Your Soul." This is their first album worth owning in quite some time (not meaning to discredit "Don't Believe the Truth," which as I said earlier, is crucially underrated). You'd be foolish not to at least check this record out. Let's just hope the album doesn't put enough money into the band's wallets so they can buy piles of cocaine again. I'm pretty sure that's where it all started to go downhill in 1995.

Oasis- The Nature of Reality

Buy "Dig Out Your Soul" from Amazon

Labels: Oasis