Beady Eye review

Different Gear, Still Speeding
2/5
Noel’s departure from Oasis hasn’t changed one thing about Liam and co: they still talk a good game. Sadly, it’s all talk. Rather than having renewed focus, Different Gear, Still Speeding is the sound of a band with no direction, paying homage to bits of music they like, minus a vision pulling the disparate influences into a cohesive whole. There are flashes of the squally, swampy energy that Oasis once did so well, but this is largely an exercise in Beatles aping. ‘The Roller’ is ‘Instant Karma’ minus the rawness, energy or passion, and Liam’s vocals have now moved so close to Lennon’s that they might as well be parody. Heck, one of the songs is even called ‘Beatles and Stones’. Highlights come from the Little Richard copyism of lead single ‘Bring the Light’ and the melodic acoustica of The La’s-soundalike ‘For Anyone’. No less derivative, but at least it’s not a Lennon/McCartney tribute.