Today Noel Gallagher‘s High Flying Birds have shared detail of the upcoming album Council Skies which will be released on June 2 by Sour Mash Records. The album will be available on CD, LP, HD Digital, 3LP and 2CD Deluxe limited-edition formats featuring remixes by The Cure’s Robert Smith and Pet Shop Boys.
The “Easy Now” music video stars one of the world’s breakthrough new talents and Critics Choice Award nominee Milly Alcock, who recently starred as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen in the HBO smash hit series and Golden Globe winning House of the Dragon. Featuring a cameo from Gallagher , the new music video sees the protagonist bursting with emotion as the track’s transcendent power takes over. “Easy Now” was directed by multiple UK Music Video Awards winner, Colin Solal Cardo.
Also the tune follows the release of “Pretty Boy” which is the first track to be taken from the new album. “Pretty Boy” was acclaimed by fans and critics alike, with Rolling Stone calling it “a swift-moving track, driven by a restless post-punk energy,” and Spin declaring “Noel’s lyrics are as inscrutable as ever.”
Council Skies was recorded at Gallagher’s own Lone Star Sound Recording Studios in London, with the album’s lusciously orchestrated strings recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. Produced by Gallagher with long-time collaborator Paul Stacey, the album also features performances from Johnny Marr on three tracks, including recently released single “Pretty Boy.” Council Skies takes its title from a book by revered northern illustrator and friend of Noel, artist Pete McKee. It covers themes of youthful yearning, and unbridled ambition.
In the press release Gallagher discusses about the album in the following statement.
“It’s going back to the beginning. Daydreaming, looking up at the sky and wondering about what life could be … that’s as true to me now as it was in the early ‘90s. When I was growing up in poverty and unemployment, music took me out of that,” he says. “Top of the Pops on TV transformed your Thursday night into this fantasy world, and that’s what I think music should be. I want my music to be elevating and transforming in some way.”
In June 2021 people saw the release of Back The Way We Came: Vol 1 (2011-2021) which is a diverse best ff album marking a decade of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. This Gold certified album was the band’s 4 consecutive UK Number one and the 12 UK Number one album across Gallagher’s career.
Council Skies Tracklist:
- I’m Not Giving Up Tonight
- Pretty Boy
- Dead To The World
- Open The Door, See What You Find
- Trying To Find A World That’s Been And Gone
- Easy Now
- Council Skies
- There She Blows!
- Love Is A Rich Man
- Think Of A Number
- Bonus Track – We’re Gonna Get There In The End