I feel I have had enough listens to write my review.
First I want to give a legend of what my ratings mean, because I think numbers and their definition can differ for people.
1-4 Shite
5-6 Meh
7 Good
8 Great
9 Amazing
10 Biblical Shockwave: I think its what you would call a good Liam stomper, but I wouldn't call it great. I love the bridge, to me that is vintage Liam, sounding so good. The "brace yourself world, its about to blow you mind" has meaning for me because the song came out while one of my local sports teams was winning the title. The rest of the song is fine, nothing special, but the bridges lift the song for me.
7.5/10One of Us: The song sounds fresh and modern and has the hooks. I sense a true urgency when Liam delivers the chorus and I love the tense feeling throughout. The gospel part is lovely too.
8.5/10Once: The hype became too high after the preview. Reminded me of when we saw that advert with 1:20 of What A Life. Its still such a good song, but it might not have matched the biblical hype. Again, Liam's delivery and voice are near perfect. Love the way he is reflecting on how life has gone. I have no issue with his lyrics or the middle 8. If one can learn to get past these nitpicks, they will enjoy music more.
8.5/10Now That I've Found You: Whether cheesy or not, this song is incredibly catchy and just super uplifting and happy. I'm reminded of Stay Young with how happy this song is. I also get the sense Liam is truly pleased to have Molly back in his life, which is wonderful.
8.5/10Halo: Fun energy, yes. But unfortunately, this type of Gallagher song is not for me. I'm a sucker for mid-tempo Gallagher and I will be til the day I die. This one is just too fast. I feel his voice is a bit wasted on a song like this. Its not bad, but I think its my least favourite song of his solo output so far.
6/10Why Me? Why Not.: I love this song and it is easily the best on the album for me. When all is said an done, it might be favourite of his solo output so far. The verses bring out the atmosphere and build up perfectly to a chorus with a great hook and where Liam sounds incredible. This is a Gallagher brother chorus. This is the kind of chorus that made me fall in love with Oasis nearly 25 years ago. Give me more of these every album. Even when you are 90.
9/10Be Still: This is a very safe song. Nothing amazing and nothing offensive either. It is fun to sing along to and is a nice ode to Peggy who is very important in his life. Can't say much more about this one.
7.5/10Alright Now: It's nice, but I feel all over the place with this tune. After 10 seconds, I've tuned out. Atmospherically, its amazing. The song itself is a bit boring though. I tune back in for the late Beatles/early Impala-like solo. Then I tune out again. Then I tune back in for the "When the lights go down on Broadway" lyric. And from then on its a different song. The ending is so good, Liam sounds amazing and the strings get all trippy. And this is all while the song is fading out. Why? I need to hear a proper recorded ending of this song.
7/10Meadow: I Love Harrison music. I love Gallagher music. So this song should be perfect for me. I love the atmosphere and I love the guitar. So why is it just just ok for me? I couldn't put my finger on it at first, but I realized its cause Liam is just monotone throughout. If this were a Harrison song, I think he would have added more variety with his voice. I'm not sure Liam could pull it off with this song, but I wish he would have tried.
7/10The River: Normally, I wouldn't love this type of song for Liam. But he still sounds awesome and the guitars kick ass. Liam could have been snarly the entire song, and I know many would have liked that, but I like that even in a heavier song, we still get his aahhhhhs. Amazing. From the "Lick your lips like a prized fighter" lyric till the end, the song picks up, and as I said, the guitars kick ass.
7.5/10Gone: I love the atmosphere. I love the production. I love the strings. I love the cinematic feel. I love the tension. I love the spoken word. But overall, I wanted more based on hype and based on it being the closer, which I expect to be a top song on any album. I think the song itself, bare bones, lacks a hook and just is not anything amazing. It is polished up, very, very well, and I cannot discount that at all, it adds to the song big time. But I wanted more. This reminds me of Who Built the Moon with the sense of decent song becoming a good but not great song due to depth and production. I still enjoy it though.
7.5/10Invisible Sun: Love the moody feel. Yes there are the Ian Brown comparisons, but I'm reminded of Barrel of a Gun by Depeche Mode. Liam sounds great.
8/10Misunderstood: This is a nice little tune, very uplifting. It reminds me of the BE bonus tracks, which were very good, but I get more from this one and its melody.
8.5/10Glimmer: This song is so much fun, catchy and uplifting once again. Nice kind of way to end off the album.
8.5/10Some notesThis album has more variety than AYW
There should be something for everyone on this album
It is a step up in terms of complexity and depth
There is something going on in every song which is likeable and interesting
Liam's voice is still incredible and lifts songs like many other vocalists can't
Liam's music will always appeal to me because of his voice. A meh song becomes good, a good song becomes great, a great song becomes amazing because of that voice. Other artists can't usually pull that off for me.
Though I have my dislike for Halo, I feel the lows on this album outdo the lows on AYW. It is more consistent than AYW in terms of quality. Do the highs match the highs? I'm not sure. Right now the top 3 from each album (and my top 6 overall, yes, all 6 would make any post Oasis combine the artists/albums best of compilation) are Bold, I've All I Need, It Doesn't Have to Be That Way, One of Us, Now That I've Found You, Why Me? Why Not. I'm not sure the current 3 as a whole match the former 3, time will tell.
Overall I love the album. When Liam says, "Cmon I know you want more", well, the answer is yes. Lay it on me. Again and again.
7.8/10Thanks for reading