I have a confession to make: in 1997 I was one of the cocky little s**ts who went around telling anyone who cared to listen that ‘Be Here Now’ was the best album ever.

That’s right, I’m a closet Oasis fan. Unlike some however, I have been rehabilitated and reintroduced into the community successfully. Now eight years later I find myself confronted with such demands once again.

Noel claims, as usual, that this is the best Oasis album that has ever been made. As usual he is wrong, but perhaps less wrong then he has been in recent years. Whilst the expected ‘influences’ (or rip-offs) appear throughout ‘Don’t Believe the Truth’, for once they actually work. Although tracks such as ‘Lyla’ appear familiar (The Stone’s ‘Street Fighting Man’ anyone?) the breadth of influences have been put to good use to create a new sound and direction, whilst still retaining some of the old Oasis swagger. Tracks such as ‘The Importance of Being Idle’ and ‘Mucky Fingers’ lean heavy on late sixties mod sounds, which you’d more readily associate with The Kinks or The Who. The band as a whole has been trying to move into new territory with its music, perhaps in a vague attempt to try and re-create the ‘Revolver’ era Beatles sound. This is especially noticeable as far as the guitars are concerned and is a welcome change from the Oasis norm. ‘Don’t believe the Truth’ actually turns out to be a pretty decent album. Fine, it’s nowhere near as good as ‘Definitely Maybe’ and its singles won’t sell near as many copies as those from ‘What’s the Story Morning Glory’, but as an album it holds together very nicely.

8/10

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Autor: Chris Spence

Quelle: wessexscene.co.uk