Two misguided solo albums to boot, it looks like it may be third times the charm for Liam Gallagher. The former Oasis frontman has marked a slow-burning collection of unique tracks that don’t drag him away from the music that made him, but does provide listeners with a broader stroke from the Manchester-born musician. C’mon You Know is the broadest stroke of all, relying on the acoustic strengths of Gallagher, but expanding on them with new styles and interesting lyrical flourishes. Push through the nasally-charged vocals and behind that is an intense desire to craft something far and away from the usual anthems of Oasis, something more conceptual is found in this solo work.
Opening track More Power lingers on as the best track of the album, its steady drum beat crescendo into a brief synth-pop beat and a strong working from Gallagher, whose lyrics are on fine form here. His lamentable lyrics, crooning of getting the girl and anger at family, and a desire for power, are an interesting layer of quality for the track. Diamond in the Dark is a strong following track, a piece that relies on, again, lyrical consistency. For those unconvinced by the wheezing simplicities of Oasis’ work, C’mon You Know may strike as a relative surprise. It cements Gallagher as, at the very least, a decent lyricist that can talk of and about generally appropriated ideas and movements. Underlying all of those wistful lyrics is a strong crashing of instrumental pieces, saxophones cropping up to round-off songs and sombre piano moments. Even then, the clamours of old school style on Everything’s Electric are just that. Electric.
Gallagher clamours for new sounds and styles, successfully so. Too Good for Giving Up is a track that relies on the emotive structure of whining guitar notes to the backing of violins, piano and sombre, slower instruments. Gallagher doesn’t need to adapt to that, he has done it before, but he has never done it so good. C’mon You Know is a dark horse of an album. It’ll work for those that are demanding more from the lyrical and vocal qualities of Gallagher, but also for those that like the style he has stuck with for the better part of three decades. It is a comfortable blend of both categories, for better or worse. C’mon, you know a line like “shining like a diamond in the dark” isn’t the greatest line. But it is solid. It Was Not Meant to Be has slight flickers of R.E.M.’s Shiny Happy People, but the overall quality is a nice breaker for stronger tracks to follow.
Gallagher has provided some solid tunes here and that has its place. They’re not grand, odyssey-like structures. Herculean efforts of great writing these are not. What they do provide are fun, catchy tracks that hold remnants of culturally relevant moments. From being as spangled as the American flag in the back of a cab to rallying cries from the titular track, there are moments of greatness on Gallagher’s record here. They are good moments, enjoyably structured ideals that Gallagher has mused on for decades. Here is his first real, independent success. A blur of baggy and Britpop powerhouses felt with a refined and articulate studio production feel. C’mon You Know feels strong, stronger than his solo works and, dare to dream, stronger than some of his Oasis work.
