Older But Still Mad For It – And Back On Form

4 Stars Out Of 5

Being an Oasis fan has always drawn parallels with supporting a football team: the laddish chant-along anthems, the Gallagher brothers' Man City affiliation, the ups, downs and serious tensions ever since they became major players in the mid-1990s.

Certainly, the fighting spirit that sealed their status as Britpop's bad boys has long since softened, yet there's enough bracing, melodic energy on their latest single, The Shock Of The Lightning – and this seventh studio album as a whole – to make this album sound like a triumph.

Liam Gallagher apparently claimed that Dig Out Your Soul was 'the easiest album we've ever made' - typical Gallagher swagger, but it is true that this is the most easily enjoyable Oasis record for ages, simply because it doesn't strain to rival anything else.

It's just heavily groove-based, chock-full of fuzz guitars and stomping drums on Bag It Up, and surprisingly plaintive on I'm Outta Time.

Oasis have mellowed with age, in the sense that they've become hippies who are still up for a scrap. They'll never be the hippest bucks on the scene again, but they've reached the stage where they're in a league of their own.

Source: www.metro.co.uk