Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Who Built the Moon?: album review
By Liam Allen
On 22nd December 2017
The third offering to come from
Noel Gallagher’s post-Oasis alternative-rock outfit High Flying Birds, Who Built the Moon? has an almost
incessant energy that is at times irresistible, and at others challenging for
the listener. The word that comes to mind with this album is “ambitious”: it
explores several musical genres and styles, from the indie to the psychedelic,
in a way that makes this album really stand out from the band’s previous work.
Musically, the album is very heavy and densely-packed in the instrumentation,
to the point where it feels almost claustrophobic to listen to – its constant
movement offering little release from the instrumental onslaught. This effect
is reinforced by the way Gallagher’s vocals are pushed back in the mix, often giving
the impression that he is being forced back and buffeted by a huge wave of
sound.
For me, though, this feels like
an album of two halves. The first of these is kicked off with the funky,
frantic ‘Fort Knox’ – a big burst of power that thrusts the listener straight
into the action. You’re struck with a huge wall of noise, discordant strings
and vocal wailing that establishes quickly the uniqueness of this album. The lyrical
mantra of “you gotta get yourself together” almost instructs you to prepare
yourself for what is to come. Unfortunately for me, I felt that this tone is quickly
lost in the second track ‘Holy Mountain’. This is the main single and selling
point from the album and is easily the safe option. A traditional rock beat and
kitschy, ‘70s vibe makes this a more conventional and uninspiring offering. Hearing
Noel perform this before the Who Built
the Moon’s release almost put me off listening to the album – with its
pretty boring brass backing which follows a 4-note step-down and back up in
unison for the whole song; the clichéd clapping towards the end of the song;
and Noel’s monotone, if not whiny, vocals.
This is followed by ‘Keep On
Reaching’, a much stronger and more inspiring vocal performance, over an indie
rock-style backing, which is probably my favourite offering from this first
half of the album. An interesting fill section in the middle of this song creates
a nice variance in the harmony, to break with the technique throughout many
songs on this album of alternating between a few chords over a 2- or 4-bar
phrase and repeating it, with little variation, for the rest of the song. This
is the song that establishes the pattern of using mantras in the lyrics – repeating
a phrase several times in row at some point during the song. In this case, the
mantra is “can you keep a secret?”. It is perhaps possible to argue the lyrics
of this album rely too heavily on these mantras, but this technique does fit
into the psychedelic style that Gallagher seems to be attempting to pursue with
the album.
After this comes three largely
forgettable, but not at all unpleasant, tracks. The first of these is ‘It’s A
Beautiful World’, which perhaps grows on you towards the end – and makes use of
a section of spoken French (courtesy of Charlotte Marionneau), something that
appears to be a current fad in pop music. ‘She Taught Me How To Fly’ comes
after, and was the weakest track on the album for me. With its repetitive rock
beat and guitar riff, and two sections of alternating 2-chord harmonic progressions,
it seems to go on for too long. This makes the change of pace in the intro to
the following track, ‘Be Careful What You Wish For’, welcome and promising. It
introduces a grungy, acoustic intro which breaks the conventions of the album,
but this is very quickly abandoned in a return to the repetitive style of the
previous two songs. The mantra for this song is “the day will never come”,
which just makes me wonder if the day will ever come when this song ends.
Fortunately, the next track on the
album is its big highlight for me, and it kicks off a much more inspiring and
enjoyable second half for Who Built The
Moon?. ‘Black and White Sunshine’ is an indie pop offering which sounds
like an REM song in its guitar riffs, drum licks, and even the vocal style –
Noel’s high-pitched wailing at the end of phrases reminding me very much of
Michael Stipe. The guitar riff on this track, while still repetitive, is much
more interesting and varied than on the previous tracks, and the harmony in the
rhythm guitar features much more complex chords. The outro, focusing on the
guitar riff until a fade, is beautiful, and leads well into the following
track, ‘Interlude (Wednesday Part 1)’. This instrumental interlude breaks up
the album very nicely, and offers a release from the constant movement of the
rest of the album. I can’t help but feel here, though, that this interlude
could have come a lot earlier on in the tracklist, and offered a respite from
some of the more repetitive tracks that come in the first half. This is the
most experimental and unique of the album’s tracks.
‘If Love Is The Law’ demonstrates
how a more conventional song can still be interesting and inspirational, and should
have been the album’s lead single for me. It is one of the most rhythmically
and melodically interesting tracks on Who
Built The Moon?, while still demonstrating a pop feel. It also introduces folk
elements (such as the aggressive on-beat kick drum and the use of the
harmonica), showing a new influence on Gallagher’s songwriting for this album. This
is followed up by the brilliant ‘The Man Who Built The Moon’, which takes
Oasis-like elements and drags them into a new style. This track is equally
compelling and sinister, with its haunting vocals, discordant synth strings and
dense instrumentals. The beat is irresistible and the harmonies are completely
out-there, making this another of my favourites. It also offers one of the more
interesting lyrics from the album, “You and I, the spider and the fly, we’ll
meet where the shadows fall.’
The album ends (ostensibly) with a
reprise of the interlude in ‘End Credits (Wednesday Part 2)’, and, although it
rounds of the album quite nicely, it feels a bit weak after the power of the
previous track, and I would have liked something a bit more authoritative to
end on. Thankfully, the bonus track ‘Dead In The Water’ which follows is a
really beautiful, acoustic piece that is another highlight. This is the track
that feels the most Oasis-like, in its more traditional alternative rock style.
It presents a more honest vocal performance from Noel, which is all the more
powerful over the minimal acoustic guitar and piano backing; the song’s hook – “I
will not rest while love lies dead in the water” – is exquisite in its honesty
and emotion. This track can instantly make you feel appreciative of the album
as a whole, and offers a much more inspiring ending than the previous song
would have.
Overall, then, the latter half of
this album was much stronger for me. The first few tracks, though ambitious,
ending up being slightly repetitive and difficult to enjoy in parts. This doesn’t
mean that any of this new work from Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds is bad;
even its weaker tracks can be enjoyable, and tend to grow on you with multiple
listens. What I really appreciate about Who
Built The Moon? is its ambition and spirit. It manages to attempt a wide
variety of styles whilst remaining a single, cohesive unit; and when Noel’s vocals
take the forefront and the shackles are released from the harmonies, this album
grows into something very inspiring.
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