Noel Gallagher - 'Pretty Boy' Single Review
Noel Gallagher started out as the brains behind Oasis, but has since moved into his own band, titled 'Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds'. The High Flying Birds have had a pretty solid lineup since they were formed in 2010, however there have been some special guests, including Johnny Marr and Paul Weller.
In 2022, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds headlined Glastonbury Music Festival, Worthy Farm, Somerset.
On October 26th, Gallagher teased on his socials that there was to be a drop on Halloween at 8AM GMT.
Noel's newest single, 'Pretty Boy', is the first to be released from his new album, which as yet does not have a public title. Of the song, which I found to be refreshing and ahead of the times, Gallagher said, "for this new record it was the first thing I wrote, the first thing I demoed and the first thing I finished, so it's only right that it's the first thing people get to hear." The track features Johnny Marr, and Noel has also given him credit, "massive shout out to my mainest man Johnny Marr for taking it somewhere special."
The single fades in, making it have a certain sort of excitement the first time you listen to it. Whilst there have been new Noel Gallagher EPs since the release of the last album, there is something exciting about knowing there is a new album about to come... and as this song was the first one written, recorded and released, one can hope that it will be the first on the new album as it is definitely exciting and, I think, a good way to open an album.
There was one point in 'Pretty Boy' that I thought sounded fairly Oasis-y, but that could just be wishful thinking. An Oasis reunion has been on my list to Santa Claus for the last three years! But this is not Oasis - it is Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, and whilst the songwriting genius behind them both is the same man, the vibes are different, and one cannot - and should not - be compared to the other.
Noel Gallagher has so far managed to keep abreast with the ever-changing flow of music and its sounds, but Oasis has been left in the past, where it is still cool if you were at Knebworth '96 (I still think it's cool, but apparently it isn't hot news anymore).
'Pretty Boy' is exciting and fresh, and displays the songwriting talents of one of this country's finest.