Liam Gallagher - C'mon You Know (2022) LP

You’d expect to find plenty of rockers on a Liam Gallagher album and you won’t be disappointed on that front, with songs like ‘Everything’s Electric’ and the title track fitting that bill nicely, as well as the album’s closing track ‘Wave’, which includes a cheeky lyrical nod to his long-running feud with Noel Gallagher: “My brother don’t like me, he’s said it before / Who threw the first stone, and who’s keeping score?”

Elsewhere though there are more than a few sonic surprises across the new album, not least the angelic, choral opener ‘More Power’. One of these comes part way into ‘I’m Free’, which begins as a straight-up rock ‘n’ roller only to take an abrupt left turn into dub reggae territory – not an easy one to pull off, but it works surprisingly well.

The obligatory Beatles references are still dotted around and their influence shines through on the hazy trip that is ‘Moscow Rules’, while there are also shades of The La’s folky, melodic style to ‘World’s In Need’, but the album’s real highlights come on tracks like ‘Diamond in the Dark’ and ‘Don’t Go Halfway’, two moments where Gallagher’s trademark vocal style and knack for melody are paired with some interesting chord twists and tricks that elevate them to something beyond standard rock ‘n’ roll fare.