Ask anyone who knows me personally and they will tell you that I am obsessed with the band Oasis. The group famous for “Wonderwall”, “Champagne Supernova”, and countless more hits has been on my mind for the last couple years. Unfortunately, their last album was released in 2008 and the band has since broken apart due to the toxic relationship between the two brothers who created the band more than two decades ago, Liam & Noel Gallagher. Since their breakup Noel has released a couple of albums with a new band, but Liam has remained mostly quiet save for an ill-fated attempt to start a new band himself. Just a couple of months ago Liam released a brand new single, “Wall of Glass,” and announced he has a new record coming this fall. Now with three singles released from the album, what can we expect from the full-length effort in October?

The first release, “Wall of Glass”, sounds like a classic rock song, and feels as if it could have been lifted right from Definitely Maybe. The song has an electrifying backbone of psychedelic guitar and heavy drums that move the beat along effortlessly. My only gripe is that its not lyrically impressive. Liam finds easy rhymes - which sound nice - but they don't always make that big of an impact.

Next is “Chinatown”, an acoustic ballad all about returning to a place that you’ve been waiting for your entire life. Its not terribly complex, but it doesn’t need it be. It’s not a bad song by any means. But again the lyricism just isn’t terribly strong. The chorus is the best part, from a writing standpoint. But the other verses just leave me asking, “Did he just write in five minutes and start singing?” It leaves something to be desired.

Finally, we have “For What It’s Worth.” Its a heartfelt song all about forgiveness and admitting you’ve done wrong. It sounds like ‘soft rock’ and sounds like it could have been a B-side on (What’s the Story). Here, Liam finally writes some good lyrics that go beyond a few cheap rhymes. Whether it's about his brother or not, I actually really enjoyed this track. Its not perfect, but its the closest to something that I’ve wanted to hear from the singer since he announced a new record this year.

So where does he go from here? The three songs that have been released have, as a whole, felt very lukewarm. Nothing has stood out to me as revolutionary or anything like that, and after listening to all three again I am beginning to feel a little worried as to what the rest of the record has in store for fans. Naturally, as with any of Noel’s music, people (myself included) will always make connections and comparisons to the entire Oasis catalog. So far, what Liam has released hasn’t sounded anything like the timeless tunes that made him and his brother world famous practically overnight in the 90’s. Granted, I haven’t thought that Noel’s solo music has sounded like their old music either. But its natural to have sky high expectations for the voices behind some of the most iconic songs in recent memory.

Now I don’t think the rest of the album is going to be ‘bad’ or anything like that. I just hope that Liam takes a route more focused on making the best, most meaningful music possible rather than trying to redefine himself or what he has to offer. He is a great lyricist and has one of the most recognizable voices in music, so why not use that to your advantage? I’m not trying to say that he needs to be Oasis 2.0 or anything of the sort. Just that if he wants to find success and appreciation from his solo efforts he has the ability to do so. His music has always been seen as biblical to fans around the world, so use the opportunity to truly show your own unique voice and change the world of music once again.