Recently I checked my last.fm stats and found a curious factoid: I’ve listened to Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds thrice the time that I’ve listened to Oasis in the last 5 years.

It figures, as I’ve grown apart from Oasis, and honestly, the second half of their career has a scarcity of great ideas.

I’ve always banged about that Noel Gallagher needs to make an electronica album. He’s got the desire, which explains his two collaborations with the chemical brothers and his fantastic track Teotihuacan, from The X-files: fight the future soundtrack.

When high flying birds started, I really didn’t care at all. I was so burned out with the drama and the fighting that I never bothered listening. Until a day in late 2021 when I was bored out of my skull with online teaching. I felt so isolated and a random YouTube recommendation presented me with their appearance in Jools Holland. Both holy mountain and she taught me how to fly are a bit by the numbers but enjoyable so I decided to embark on a deep dig of his discography.

This is the place and black star dancing are the closest to dancey songs and I hope Gallagher drives further on that direction. Check the piano from AKA… What a life and tell me it’s not a typical Eurodance composition hidden beneath a rock track.

I saw Noel Gallagher live in 2023 at Corona Capital and I think it was one of his off days. Council skies has great songs but I don’t believe they work on a live setting, he should’ve gone for the anthems he already had under his belt. No worries there, it was the recent material and he wanted to test it. I don’t feel playing Oasis songs was the right choice, it took away from his set. But it’s his choice.

Right, so I’ve ranted a bit about Gallagher but let’s get into Ballad of the mighty I. Johnny Marr shines through and it’s the perfect intersection between Gallagher the dance musician and Gallagher the seasoned rocker. The video intrigues me, especially due to the Jamie Bell looking stalker, which feels like a lackey from the label being “observant” (aka a grasser). It’s my all time fave high flying birds track and possibly the second best Noel Gallagher vocal performance after The Masterplan.

The Oasis reunion brought a lot of attention to their back catalogue and that’s cool. I just hope it was a one off thing to pay debts and divorce settlements and both Liam and Noel continue their own stuff. Oasis was loved by many back then, but I honestly thing it’s time to move on. Here’s hoping for a Noel Gallagher dance album next. I’ll buy the first round of cheeky vimtos.

-Sam J. Valdés López