Britpop veterans Oasis release their first single in nearly two years on Monday as they strive to recapture their 1990s glory years.
“Hindu Times,” a typical slice of Oasis guitar-driven rock, goes on sale across Britain a month after a leaked copy found its way onto the internet.
The band’s brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher have won mixed reviews for the single, their first since “Sunday Morning Call” in July 2000.
“It is a welcome return to their heyday noize (sic)… resurrected as the sound of 100 bulldozers driving into a mountain of gemstones,” the New Musical Express said in a review.
The Independent newspaper said the single marked a return to the Manchester band’s swaggering roots, which helped them achieve huge success during the Britpop boom of the 1990s.
“Rekindling the bite and attitude that initially made the group, Oasis return…with a pleasing decibel count,” the paper said.
The Mirror said the single “follows the old formula – bludgeoning but shop-soiled guitars and a lyric that glories in wanton hedonism and nostalgia for Oasis’ mid-90s heyday.”
The Guardian’s review was straight to the point: “Could try harder.”
Oasis’ bid for number one in the UK singles chart may be upset by American boyband ‘N Sync who release their new single “Girlfriend” at the same time.
After chart success in the 1990s, the Gallagher brothers became more famous for their failed celebrity marriages, drinking binges and well-publicized arguments with each other.
Their comeback will peak this summer when Oasis are due to perform in front of 120,000 people at Finsbury Park in north London on July 5 and 6. Their new album “Heathen Chemistry” is released in July.