Review: Beady Eye – ‘BE’

Having both defined and subsequently relinquished the flag-waving cultural ethos of his youth; otherwise known as the bygone era of Britpop, Liam Gallagher doesn’t really have anything to prove or to give to anyone who is still even remotely interested in the crux of his musical output – lesser those whose ears remain unscathed by the younger Gallagher’s abrasive shooting-fish-in-a-barrel rock project, Beady Eye.

But whilst all ears and eyes will unwittingly remain fixed on the former Oasis frontman, much the same can be said for guitarist Andy Bell, whose output over the course of the last decade has been somewhat pitiful in comparison to the heights he explored with seminal nineties shoe gaze outfit Ride.

So what brings people back to the creative endeavours of a few grumpy old men who are arguably well beyond any measure of relevance in the modern musical climate?

The answer? As always, they are far from boring. Look no further than the band’s most recent photo shoot with Q Magazine; no doubt under the direction of Liam’s hilarious cloud bursting ambition, each member of the group are draped in astronaut suits, staring at the camera with decidedly crushing, polarizing gazes of conviction. Precariously perched upon an impressive Lunar backdrop, it’s so ridiculous that it’s impossible not to take them seriously. This unique dichotomy of oblivious self-absorption against his burgeoning cultural irrelevance has always been something that has made Gallagher so compelling time and time again.

A figure who is without equal among his peers, the charismatic vocalist is derided for his outspokenness as much as for his music, yet is a master of his craft at both when at the top of his game. Much like Morrissey before him, Gallagher has polarized the opinion of those ready to both accept and dismiss his work but yet, perhaps fittingly, still nobody is quite sure of his significance in the timeline of the British rock canon – reason enough to come back to assess the work he so willfully slams over our head.

Having announced nearly three years ago their relentless will to carry on the hoary old rock agenda from which its members are most acquainted, it’s difficult to assess exactly what the quintet have achieved. As a collective entity, the group under the Beady Eye moniker have no doubt exhibited more adventure and energy than Oasis had in a long time – to the point where they are beyond simply being a curiosity – but when lined up against the course of time, it always comes straight back to the music, stupid.

‘Different Gear, Still Speeding’s high points came when the band felt like they weren’t trying; ‘Bring the Light’ and ‘Four Letter Word’ felt natural and effortless, whilst tracks like ‘For Anyone’ came across as sweet and tender as any early Beatles ballad. Nothing of the sort can be found on the band’s self-proclaimed make-or-break second full-length release, ‘BE‘ – something that could be perceived as a double-edged sword for both casual and die-hards alike – but the foundation of the record is strong.

Refreshingly, perhaps as a result of Dave Sitek’s studio savvy, the band’s attention to sound and form has never been clearer, with instruments sparkling through the canvas of the songs like well-used primary colours of a painter’s palette. Lead single ‘Second Bite of the Apple’ demonstrates this within just a few select notes of its thick, brooding bass line and deliciously coarse drums. The sinister, Nick Cave-like introduction is washed away however by Liam’s odd-sounding vocal, as if the vocalist and his band mates are conversely willing to take the song in completely different directions, wrestling for a peaceful higher ground that is never quite achieved.

The pleasant enough ‘Soul Love’ embarks upon similar territory, with its crystallized guitars emitting brush strokes of light behind the honeyed claw of Gallagher’s refrain. It’s hard to ignore, however, the caricatured bleat that Liam’s voice has become; no longer able to carry the weight of a song with the brash vitality or impassioned sentimentality of his youth, the melodies can crack and falter under the strain of his emphasis; at times juxtaposed against the maudlin, monotonous phrase of his delivery.

Although his band mates do their best to present the songs with largely unsophisticated curveballs, anyone who plans on taking the group’s predictably brash statements of a ‘far-out’, ‘experimental’ album to heart are going to be disappointed to discover that this is largely reserved to a few odd-sounding guitar hooks and off-kilter song structures that sound more forced than necessary. Whilst the group no doubt sound like they have exhibited more focus and thought into the recordings for the second time round, the harvest yields are not necessarily more productive, and in some parts of up-tempo numbers such as ‘Face the Crowd’ and ‘Soon Come Tomorrow’ lacklustre melodies and grating vocals stamp all over the song like crop circles carved in an otherwise pleasant hillside.

Regardless of what people perceive as the band being capable of or what they should sound like, ‘BE’ encompasses a suitable array of songs that arguably demonstrate a clear step-up from the band’s debut, and will no doubt be warmly received by those who are already fans of their work. But as Gallagher signs us off with the predictably gentle ‘Start Anew’ as the record’s swansong, one can’t help but wonder what a fresh start would be for the once-mighty frontman, the question lingering forth in the back of the mind; will he  ever produce anything that stands up to the significance of his earliest work?

Who knows, and for the time being, who cares?

(Raphael Hall)