Liam Gallagher

Chris Hillman Modern Studies

As You Were (Warner) ★★★1/5

Eight years on, it feels almost lazy to measure the Gallagher brothers’ current careers against what they did with Oasis. The problem is, their musical roles in that band provide such a clear context for their current efforts. Noel had the chops; Liam had the pipes. So while his older brother still embarks on musical tangents, all Liam seems to want is a cuppa and a good tune. For his first solo effort, session musicians and producers enable Liam to deliver his vision largely without compromise (with only two of the weaker tracks on the album, Paper Crown and Chinatown not having input from Gallagher). The result is exactly what you’d expect – straight-ahead Brit rock melodies, familiar and surprisingly vulnerable, with massive choruses and terrible lyrics. Time can be unkind to a singer’s higher register, but Liam’s best tool – a warm falsetto, not even hinted at in his grunting Mancunian speaking voice – remains strong, carrying many of the tunes. But, more than that is required. The songs drift tantalisingly close to greatness, but too often get lost in dull balladry. Liam misses that moderating influence to challenge his material to be more than it currently is. As You Were is easy to like but hard to love. – James Cardno

Bidin’ My Time (Southbound)

★★★★ The late Tom Petty – who openly acknowledged the influence of The Byrds on his career – has paid off any debt he might have had to a former bandmate, providing a lovely footnote to a recording career that Chris Hillman thought was over. Bidin’ My Time isa mix of covers and dewy Hillman originals such as Given All I Can See. Here She Comes Again and New Old John Robertson, both co-written with fellow Byrds band member Roger McGuinn, are memorable enough but the standout track is Hilman’s poignant bluegrass version of Petty’s Wildflowers .– Mike Alexander

Swell to Great (Southbound)

★★ Why is indie folk so boring? A gross generalisation of course, but there does seem to be a general train of thought that as long as it’s slow, with plenty of echo and maybe the odd orchestral accompaniment, well, hey, that’s all you need. Enter Scottish folkies Modern Studies. Swell to Great isn’t necessarily a bad album – the production is crystal clear, singer Emily Scott has a lovely voice and there’s some nice guitar playing to be found, but where’s the flavour? It’s an album that rarely leaves first gear, and never second. It just sort of drones along, with a stupid harmonium lurching in and out and each song sounding almost exactly like the last. Slow and melancholy, yes, but that doesn’t automatically equal quality. – Jack Barlow