Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Council Skies review: Oasis brother relaxes into his knack for big, bittersweet tunes

Sign up to Roisin O’Connor’s free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Get our Now Hear This email for free SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Meanwhile, Gen Xers having palpitations over how many decades it’s been since they first bawled along to “Live Forever” at the indie disco can soothe their souls with Council Skies: the mature and melodic fourth album from Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. Even Liam likes “Dead to the World”, having tweeted: “How can such a mean spirited little man write such a beautiful song?” There’s a touch of Ennio Morricone to the way he gives these instruments little adventures of their own, just as the western composer let trumpets or whistling motifs blow across vintage deserts. He told Mancunian.com : “There’s Burnage Community Centre where we used to go glue sniffing, the Apollo, the shops of Levenshulme, and Ardwick and Piccadilly Station it’s got a very council estate, northern feel to it.” Slouching against the slightly post-punk bass of “Think of a Number”, Gallagher bemoans a cruel world. Gallagher urges fans to “remember the dream you’re keeping alive” and whacks out the consoling platitudes to chords that feel as easy to sink into as the sofa decorating the sleeve of Definitely Maybe.