Noel Gallagher is a rock god. He’s penned some of the best songs in Brit pop, much less rock itself. His first solo album after the breakup of Oasis, the self titled Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds was a near masterpiece that backed the fact that he is a master musician. However, it felt under appreciated in the U.S. despite sitting near the top of the charts in Britain.

Noel’s solo career initially took a step away from the guitar rock of his days in Oasis, as the writing focused on acoustic based songs with heavy bass and percussion. He introduced new elements such as violin and trumpet as staples to the songs that made the record sound more akin to a soundtrack than anything. Regardless, it was an album that seemed like every song should’ve been a massive single.

Almost three and a half years later, Gallagher’s second solo album is ready to strike in March. From the few songs released so far, the appropriately titled Chasing Yesterday looks like the writing will shift back to an Oasis-styled rock album. The few singles out so far bask in an energy that all classic songs seems to have, something that felt almost completely absent from High Flying Birds in retrospect.

Lead single “In the Heat of the Moment” is a grungy pop song backed with prominent percussion and bells that makes it feel as at home in an arena concert as it would a dance club. B-side “Do the Damage” is a straight up rock song, which is something that his first album almost completely lacked. It comes complete with a jamming saxophone, as is standard for Brit pop.

If Chasing Yesterday can keep the momentum going, it may be a massive album that recaptures Noel’s passion for songwriting and be on par with his writing from the nineties, which many consider his prime. Though an Oasis reunion still seems utterly impossible, Chasing Yesterday may be more than anyone could’ve hoped for.

Kyle Schultz is the Senior Editor at It’s All Dead and has worked as a gaming journalist at Structure Gaming. He lives in Chicago and has been obsessed with the Gallagher brothers and Oasis since he was a wee youngin’. He saw Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds play to a half full room in Indianapolis, but the crowd there deafened the room with how loud they sang back. Yay!