Oasis: Dig Out Your Soul

Are there

really only 14 years dividing Oasis' classic 1994 debut Definitely Maybe and the new Dig Out Your Soul Noel and Liam Gallagher have been

past-their-prime rock stars for so long it almost seems like they really did

start out in the '60s with The Beatles, Stones, and every other band they've

famously borrowed from. At this point, anything Oasis gets the benefit of being

graded on a generous curve. No one expects another Exile On Main St.; Voodoo Lounge would be just fine, lads.

Coming

after 2005's Don't Believe The Truth—the kind of surprisingly listenable

but still mostly forgettable record that most bands save for 25th anniversary

tours—Dig Out Your Soul continues Oasis' relatively impressive late-period

resurgence. Noel's decision to make the band a songwriting democracy several

years ago has paved the way for some unexpectedly strong creative contributions

from Liam, who boasts one of his best tunes yet with the swirling psych-pop

ballad "I'm Outta Time." (How sad that guitarist Andy Bell, formerly of great

early '90s shoegazers Ride, is still creatively MIA from Oasis, only turning in

the rote stomper "The Nature Of Reality.") Noel, meanwhile, defends his title

as the worst lyricist in Britpop history on "Bag It Up," forcing his brother to

sing tossed-off silliness like "I got my heebie jeebies in a little bag" with a

no-shit sneer. Much better is "The Shock Of The Lightning," a propulsive rocker

that shamelessly apes Oasis' mid-'90s sound. It's no "Live Forever," but it'll

do.