With Noel Gallagher griping about the latest Bond theme, it might be facile to dub this Oasis’ version of Casino Royale. They’ve been on an upward trajectory since bottoming out with 2000’s Standing On the Shoulder of Giants, so the lads didn’t need to go back to the drawing board. But it’s a leaner, meaner, hungrier Oasis who have returned with Dig Out Your Soul, dispensing with formula in favour of energetic, mildly experimental Britrock, the likes of which we haven’t heard since Definitely Maybe.
Not everyone is entirely on board; Liam Gallagher inserts “I’m Outta Time,” a not-bad ballad that verges on self-parody once the John Lennon sample kicks in, and Gem Archer’s George Harrison–aping “To Be Where There’s Life” has the same problem. (Liam’s album closer, “Soldier On,” does a better job of sticking to the game plan.) But the six Noel-penned offerings are top-notch. The storming, vaguely ominous “Bag It Up” is a legitimately thrilling opener, “The Shock of the Lightning” is their least predictable lead single since “D’You Know What I Mean” and the Noel-fronted “Waiting for the Rapture” and “Falling Down” have as much heart as any of the pub anthems he’s served up in the last decade. Devotees who actually like the formula may be divided on whether it’s the best Oasis album since Morning Glory, but it’s certainly the most interesting.