Oasis is premiering its entire new album, Dig Out Your Soul, on MySpace starting today and will have it remain on the site for the rest of the week.This album is the upcoming seventh studio album by Oasis and will be released on October 6th worldwide and October 7, 2008 in the US.
I was kind of surprised but excited that they were previewing their new album a week early for free. I guess MySpace’s new music player format is becoming a great marketing tool for bands to get their music out there and hopefully digitally bought. It will be interesting to see how many sales previewing the album a week early generates. I personally think this is a great idea and love the sites music makeover and that you can directly buy songs through it. Although I did not see a way to pre-order the songs like you can on iTunes.
The CD is a departure from their last few efforts and I personally really enjoy it. It is more rock and at times psychedelic with no acoustic tracks, they seem to be getting back to their stripped-down rock roots.It opens up with “Bag it Up” (one of my faves on the CD) a mid tempo rocker with great doubled vocals on the verse and a sing-along chorus and the album only gets better from there with some inventive songs that are different from the usual Oasis fare.Some of the highlights include:
“The Shock of the Lighting“ – The bands current single which is good but seems like a vintage Oasis tune that would have fit nicely in What’s the Story or Definitely Maybe.
“I’m Outta Time,” one of three songs Liam Gallagher wrote, and is a true standout track. It’s likely to be the favorite track because it features great melodies and Liam sings it beautifully. The production & arrangement is great and while it has an experimental/psychedelic edge, it at the same time has a classic sound.
“(Get Off Your) High Horse Lady”, one of the three tracks sung by Noel Gallagher, is a really surreal mix of big drums & a sort of country sound that’s hard to explain and unlike anything Oasis has ever done before.
“Falling Down” is the 3rd Noel sung track.It’s a drum & bass based track but it also features a great catchy vocal line. Like many songs on this album it showcases Oasis “getting into the groove.”
“The Turning” – a great song to rock out to with awesome choir backing vocals and rock- tastic choruses.
“Waiting for the Rapture” is both spacey and dirty at the same time with some fun storytelling lyrics. It’s a great mix and the vocals are truly mesmerizing.
Although at times Oasis almost sound a little like psychedelic Beatles to me, overall I really enjoyed Oasis’s new effort. One where Oasis is confidently moving out of their usual comfort zone and into more experimental songwriting, arrangements, and production. While it doesn’t live up to my own high standards of What’s the Story (Morning Glory), Dig Out Your Soul, has enough worthwhile moments where fans shouldn’t be disappointed. It is the type of album that will only be enhanced by seeing it performed live when they start their tour next week. Get tickets here!