Always operating in the shadow of his brother
Noel
,
Liam Gallagher
had difficulty separating himself from
Oasis
. Maybe that's his fault, since he retained nearly the entire lineup of
for
Beady Eye
, the group he formed after splitting with his sibling in 2009, but that band never gained traction -- which had the unfortunate side effect of slowing
Liam
's momentum. He pulled the plug on
in 2014 and spent a couple of years regrouping, re-emerging in 2017 with
As You Were
. The very title suggests
Gallagher
is picking up where
left off, a sentiment that also applied to
's 2011 debut,
Different Gear, Still Speeding
, but
is clean and focused in a way
has never been on his own. Proud classicist that he is,
doesn't attempt to adopt a new aesthetic here, but thanks to producer
Greg Kurstin
-- who won a boatload of Grammys through his work with
Adele
and has also helmed records for
Foo Fighters
Tegan and Sara
Kelly Clarkson
, and
Elle Goulding
-- he does freshen up his sounds.
attempted a similar sonic shakeup on their final album,
BE
, but producer
Dave Sitek
encouraged a hazy neo-psychedelia, which is the sonic opposite of the clean snap
Kurstin
brings to
. Clear and modern, buttressed with slight rhythmic loops and digital manipulation,
doesn't sound retro even though it is, in essence, a throwback to a throwback -- a re-articulation of
's '90s obsession with the '60s. That production does
a favor but so does
's presence as a co-songwriter, helping to rein in
's wandering ear and sharpen his melodies. Ranging from the icy onslaught of "Wall of Glass" to the stark swirl of "Chinatown," this is his best record in nearly a decade, and they add up to an album that illustrates exactly who
is as an artist. Now in his middle age, he's a richer, nuanced singer than he was during
' heyday, yet he's retained his charisma and, unlike his brother, he favors color and fire in his records, elements that not only enhance this fine collection of songs but make this the best post-
album from either
to date. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine