Album Review: Beady Eye - Different Gear, Still Speeding (2011)

Beady Eye?  Who the hell is Beady Eye?  If you're asking yourself that, the answer is simple.  Beady Eye consists of the former band Oasis minus Noel Gallagher.  After the split with Oasis, Liam and the rest of the Oasis gang decided to continue making new music.  Eventually they settled on the name Beady Eye (if they couldn't come up with a name before the album was done, they were going to settle on Oasis 2.0).

So finally, Beady Eye releases their first album, Different Gear, Still Speding.  Is their album a far departure from Oasis, or is it just Oasis 2.0?

The first track on the album, "Four Letter Word," starts off the album like it's a continuation of Dig Out Your Soul, the last album Oasis made.  But as you continue onward through the album, you run into "The Roller," which is a personal favorite of mine because it sounds like it came straight out of the early Oasis days.  That's not saying that this album is a ripoff of older Oasis albums because this certainly is not one of those cases.  "Bring the Light" is a welcome addition into Beady Eye's repertoire, creating a different Britpop/Rock sound that really hasn't been heard in a very long time.

With Liam being the primary songwriter, it seems as Beady Eye may have a chance to make it.  Liam is a very good songwriter, having written a few singles like "Songbird," "I'm Outta Time," plus a handful of other album songs.  Liam thankfully seems to know what he's doing and I have a feeling that if an Oasis reunion is not on the horizon, Beady Eye will be an excellent replacement for those who are missing Oasis, like I am.  This album is really good, and if you do like Oasis, or you did enjoy any of the singles you heard, then this is an album you should pick up.