Liam Gallagher’s new, hilariously-named, band – Beady Eye, indeed – released their first song amidst much hullabaloo yesterday, and for once I actually enjoyed getting swept along in the excitement.
Having now heard the tediously named ‘Bring The Light’, I can confidently claim that even his most fervent, mouth-breathing fans wouldn’t have expected the resulting cross between Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting) by Elton John and one of Primal Scream’s most shonky low-point Stones knock-offs.
Note to Liam: your band has a combined 60-odd years experience being rock stars. This just won’t do. Lovely production, though.
Rapids! have lovely production on Fuses, though fortunately for them, it’s not the only talking point.
Fuses (Single Edition) by Rapids!
Can you imagine Fuses if Liam had recorded it? All those interestingly tangled half-starts that eventually bloom into a luxurious chorus replaced by a plod-rock trudge. All those pleasantly earnest changes of direction, those thoughts made sonic, expunged by simply repeating the words “Baby come on” until we all die of enforced stupidity.
Fuses is a song that inspects itself from all angles and then self-consumes, a song that emphasises exploration, rather than mad, mindless bluster. Rapids! may well be just that – too quickly frantic – to compete with Liam’s swamp monster, but will be loved by anyone with half a brain. Which, if you think about it, automatically excludes Beady Eye’s fanbase. All is well.