Search - Oasis :: Don't Believe the Truth

3.5; returning to form can be tough...

Cloud | Canada | 07/14/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Ever since their second album, the blockbuster "(What's the Story) Morning Glory", Oasis have been fairly hit-or-miss when it came to the songs. Their third: too bloated and too long. Their fourth: too cerebral and not enough hooks. And their previous record felt like it was trying to replicate their previous success but they only remembered half of what it was. However the maturity seemed to get a little improved with each record and songs were created that were not just simply radio-geared but focused a bit more on their songwriting, as borrowed and/or cliched as it is. "Don't Believe the Truth" was marked as a return-to-form and while they've gotten better in key areas, there's some things that they still haven't been able to replicate: that of a killer pop tune hook.



Turn Up the Sun: Opening with some minor arpeggios, the track then becomes a big rock track with Liam's vocals coming in which sound a bit raspier than usual. It's pretty simple as far as tunes go but it grew on me and while I wouldn't consider one of their best, it's decent enough as a song. 7.5/10



Mucky Fingers: Just like "Force of Nature" with its irritating beat, we have this song. It's basically 3 chords repeating for quite awhile with pounding drums for the beat and it gets old really quickly. Noel basically yells the lyrics and there's really no redeeming value to this one. 4/10



Lyla: Despite the band's claim that this isn't even in the top 5 songs on the record, I have to disagree. Catchy rhythm, a chorus to sing along to and even though its pop hooks are a bit more obvious than other songs on the record, doesn't stop it from being quite listenable. The long outro is back though (they gotta stop doing that). 8.5/10



Love Like a Bomb: A Liam-penned tune that isn't quite as great as "Songbird" but it's quite good in its own right with some good vocals in the chorus and some la-la-la's for extra catchiness. It's pretty short but a good one. 8/10



The Importance of Being Idle: Quite different than they normally do and while one can tell based on the guitar tones it's not that different, musically it's not as balls-to-the-wall rock or acoustic pop that they normally do and Noel does a good job singing the falsettos in the chorus complete with staccato chords. 9/10



The Meaning of Soul: Barring the "Jumpin Jack Flash"-sounding line in the chorus, this is a nice burst of acoustic rock penned by Liam. It's quite short but it's a cool song and quite enjoyable to hear. Nothing else to say about it really. 8/10



Guess God Thinks I'm Abel: Bit of Middle Eastern-type chords and it's probably Liam's best track on the album. The song could've easily fit on the "Giants" record since it's a bit more experimental than usual. One complaint is the loud burst of sound at the end. It kind of kills the feel of the whole thing. 8/10



Part of the Queue: To tell the truth, this track is kind of boring. It just sort of lurches on with Noel doing a similar yelling/singing like on "Mucky Fingers" only the song isn't quite as annoying. I love the piano riff during the bridge and only thing that really saves this one. 7/10



Keep the Dream Alive: Quite an enjoyable track and even though it's pretty basic during the verses, the chorus picks up and Liam sounds really great and is one of the more enjoyable tracks on the record because of it with some nah-nah's to top it off. 8.5/10



A Bell Will Ring: Another underrated highlight and it's got that classic Oasis feel with Liam sounding great and it's "all will be brand new" might get stuck in your head. My only complaint is like most of the songs on the record, the mix sounds a little too noisy but oh well. 8/10



Let There Be Love: If "Acquiesce" was the loud anthemic rocker duet, this is on the other end with delicate acoustic strumming, piano chords and it's pretty enjoyable with Liam and Noel both taking turns singing the track. Another highlight off the record and ends the record on a bit more somber-yet-hopeful light. 8/10



There's some records bands will do where they seem less concerned with getting a top 10 hit and just want to write solid tracks. "Don't Believe the Truth" is basically the same and while only a handful of these tracks can compete with their best work, it's a pretty solid record in the end."

Oasis, there and back again...

Thomas Hugh Feeley | Buffalo, NY | 01/30/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Don't believe the truth represents Oasis' best album since the 1995 epic (What's the story?) Morning Glory. The single Lyla is easily one of the top Oasis tracks and marks a return of the band to more mainstream music and the end of the self-indulgent albums preceding this album. They use Zak Starkey on drums (yes, son of Ringo Star or Richard Starkey) and the tracks are co-written by many of the band members with 2 of the top tracks (Turn up the sun, Guess God thinks I'm Abel) written by the bass player and Liam Gallagher. I am optimistic the new band is now positioned to propel the group through their mature years and get down to writing more ripping, sing-along tracks that make the band the top act in the last 15 years, at least. This is a must buy even for a part-time fan."

It Ain't That Bad

Brian Murphy | Tampa, FL. | 02/01/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I give this album 3.5 stars. It's a good album but definitely not their best. The album starts off great with a good rockin' and sing-along song, "Turn Up the Sun" But the following song "Mucky Fingers" is just plain..."plain". The last third of the album is quite good and darn right mesmerizing at times. "Keep The Dream Alive" hits one out of the park in the 7th inning stretch. It has a super catchy chorus with lyrics to back it up. Noisy but in a good way; a-la songs from the album Be Here Now.



As stated before there are some low points and a few fillers on this album but don't let this distract you from the finer points and subtlety that makes this album better than most other rock bands have put out in the last 5-7 years.





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