Three and a half years on from his eponymous debut solo record, with expectations high and preconceptions wavering as to whether Noel Gallagher will have mustered an even stronger, tauter follow up – here we have it: Chasing Yesterday. A statement any layman may presume is a precursor to a series of throwback melodies to the Britpop days of the 90s. Others may see it as an intentional reference to some sort of latent temptation playing on Noel’s mind, to succumb to the constant, unrelenting recurrence of the word ‘reunion’. In actual fact, the reasoning is far more plain and simple: the phrase merely appears during a song on the record.
Whilst it is made abundantly clear from the first few bars of the epic opener ‘Riverman’ is that – at least on the surface – Noel has definitively found a suitable resting place for the history of Oasis in the furthest reaches of his mind for the time being. The odd subconscious influence is always bound to slip through. After all, this is still the same creative cauldron that conjured up the majority of those stadium-filling anthems.
To that end, the record’s swampy, acoustic-based opening gambit – residing in its current form thanks to Brian Protheroe’s ‘Pinball’ – does little to dispel the continual resonance of that supposedly bygone oasis era. Per contra, the Santana-esque solo mixed with elongated bursts on the saxophone reveals an ulterior identity of the song. Leaping over the phonic interludes of lead single ‘In The Heat Of The Moment’, we’re welcomed by another slight hark back to the 90s with ‘The Girl With The X-Ray Eyes’’ strolling introductory chords – reminiscent of ‘The Masterplan’ – before the song finds its own slicker voice as an eccentric, sci-fi-sounding, wah-induced trip.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19nHQ9Butms&w=740&h=422]
Upon reaching the chronological midriff, a pair of tracks that Noel’s more ardent followers will have been familiar with for quite some time now. The first of which is ‘Lock All The Doors’, a piece that in essence could be personified as a highly-motivated self-starter, which in reality, has struggled to fully get off its feet. Over two decades old at its core, the simple 3-chord verses emit enough power to even drown out the vocals at times. ‘The Dying Of The Light’ however juxtaposes the former with a melancholically memorable progression, with some of Noel’s best lyrics of late hung around it. Its noticeable similarity to ‘Wonderwall’ may prove an issue for some though, which is a shame.
The record’s highlights are undoubtedly kept between the aforementioned and its rather understated conclusion, with ‘While The Song Remains The Same’ and ‘The Mexican’ appearing the most tantalising. One is a shuffling whiplash of enigmatic echoes and fresh-faced fills, gallantly imparting snippets of wisdom: “We let love get lost in anger chasing yesterday”. The other is a crunchy, T-Rex-enthused romp that virtually plays out as one long hook, encompassing “They say that you need love / just like a kid on crack?” among other quips.
As a complete entity, Chasing Yesterday ensues an experience akin to marathoning the filmography of a perennially eclectic, yet persistently recognisable auteur like David Fincher. The music, lyrics, motivation and inspiration of each chapter in its progression may weave through intricately crafted bindings of thought-provoking imagery and evocative melodies, but the creator’s mark bares a continuous resemblance.
Words by Alex Graham