As we’ve absolutely come to expect by now, one Gallagher brother from Burnage can’t step into the spotlight without being met by the other trying to fight them for it. Sure enough, Liam and Noel’s fraternal rivalry has meant that they’ve both released new material at the same time.
Whilst Noel has settled for a short EP, Liam has predictably attempted to make a bigger splash with the announcement of second solo album ‘Why Me? Why Not.’ to reach our ears in September, and the release of its first single and opening track, ‘Shockwave’.
‘Shockwave’, as the name would suggest, is meant to pack that heavy opening punch and grab your attention as ‘Wall of Glass’ did for Liam’s first album a couple of years back. Where the anthemic noise of ‘Wall of Glass’ twatted you across the chops, ‘Shockwave’ is more of a non-committal slap.
It threatens to be a banger without ever properly going for it. The stomping verses feel like they’re leading up to a burst of energy, but the chorus just falls a bit flat. The hook is catchy enough, but the ‘hey’ gratuitously chucked on the end of it sum up the general limpness of the most important part of the song.
Despite all his public showing-off, Liam knows the limits of his skills and has played to his strengths pretty well in his solo career so far, even straying into more adventurous territory from time to time. This is not one of those occasions though. ‘Shockwave’ is decidedly safe.
It’s not totally devoid of life by any means; the bridge utilises one of the best vocal tones Liam has in his arsenal and it sounds really good, making you wonder why he doesn’t go down the melodic avenue a little more.
This is just the first track of many more to come, so it would be daft to write Liam off just yet. ‘Shockwave’ isn’t the strongest, but we’ve got a whole summer’s worth of singles to look forward to and there’s every reason to believe this track is just a soundcheck.