This EP release is a bit of an oddity in the history of music. Noel Gallagher, although having made some very Punk material in the early days of Oasis, especially before the release of Oasis’s first album Definitely Maybe, decided to embrace Disco music towards the end of the 2010s? A bit strange, really. As brother Liam Gallagher once commented, “Noel’s a strange chap”. Perhaps he was correct, especially in this instance. After spending some time fooling around with bass guitars in the wake of the disappointing Who Built The Moon? album, he released this EP which had mixed reviews at the time. Still, it is pretty cool that Noel Gallagher had the guts and willingness to change the way his music was seen by the general public. Let’s take a listen to this EP release and hear what it sounds like.

Black Star Dancing begins with keyboard washes and Disco beats, sounding quite suspenseful. A driving bass guitar line emerges, sounding very catchy and different, along with synth strings. This is brilliant, in its own way. Noel Gallagher sings nicely here, and the lyrics here are nonsensical and quite surreal. This is, nonetheless, a really great listen experience. Eventually, this tune hits the chorus, which is very euphoric and different. After the chorus are some sweet female backing vocals and Noel Gallagher is the groovemaster here. Some funky Fender Jazzmaster guitar parts enter, and this builds up to a really cool piece of music. Of course, this is completely different to anything Oasis or Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds had done before, but this is a killer tune all the same. Very catchy, awesome and captivating, this is an awesome listening that is more textural than musical. But even so, it is brilliant. It launches into a fuzz laden guitar solo towards the end which sounds a lot like Pink Floyd, before resuming into the cool groove. A brilliant construction of sound and sonic ability, it has a decent, yet repetitive outro. Fantastic, however. A great song.

Rattling Rose begins with some digital sounds, quickly launching into a bass heavy tune with piano and a funky feel to the music. Noel Gallagher sings nicely here, and this is another very textural tune, but is stunning as a piece of music. It’s far better than anything brother Liam Gallagher has done since leaving Beady Eye behind him, and Noel sings very well here. The surreal lyrics continue nicely here, and this bass guitar heavy tune lacks guitar, which is a bit of an oddity listening to this piece. Still, this will definitely bring a smile to your face. There is an unusual percussion based breakdown with Noel repeatedly singing, “We’re gonna run away…” and this music is pretty and lively indeed. A great piece of music with some interesting timing and progressions, Noel is the chief here, showcasing his expert ability to create wonderful songs. This is a sweet listen, and Noel Gallagher himself has some great musicianship in him, as he proves time and time again. A sweetly melodic tune, worth your ears as well. It ends with the digital bleeps, just as it began with.

Sail On begins with the sound of rain, which is different. Some percussion and tambouring enter, and this tune gets going. It has some unusual guitar based instrumentation (banjo, possibly?) here and Noel Gallagher sings nicely here, once again. Even if he does use autotune on his voice, he sounds real and not artificial, unlike Liam Gallagher, who sounds horrible, even with autotune. A pleasant and enjoyable listen, this is full of passion and life throughout. Noel sings about making a love better by his presence, and this is a very lovely and romantic listen. A really great tune, Noel is getting older here, but is much wiser and better a person as a result. In any case, this is a pretty, moving and powerful tune that is quite underrated. It sounds quirky, but nothing is out of place musically here. Noel Gallagher, seemingly, was just getting started here musically. Oasis was a distant memory, and this tune proves that. A sweet listen, with a Psychedelic outro and the sound of rain reoccurring at the end. Mint.

Black Star Dancing – 12″ Mix probably isn’t necessary here. But it is here on this EP anyway. It launches into much the same version of the original tune as before, with the same sounds and mixing as before. Still, undeniably, Noel Gallagher is the chief and he makes a real decent listening experience throughout. This song is still great listening today. There is a slight change in the appropriation of certain musical sections and mixing, but all the same, this isn’t entirely necessary to hear. It is a great slight remix of the original tune, and only those with a certain musical ear will be able to hear the musical differences from the first listen. Again, not a big deal in terms of overall importance on this EP, but it is great to hear something with subtle differences here. A catchy listen all the same, it makes one wonder if Noel was using Psychedelic drugs to record this EP. Perhaps he was, we will never really know. A slight remix, but not as necessary as the original here to listen to.

Black Star Dancing – The Reflex Revision is basically a 10 minute long remix of the original tune to conclude this EP. It begins with spacey sounds, Disco beats and a prolonged and interesting introduction to this particular version of the song. This is exactly what LSD takers and Noel Gallagher fans should hear, provided that they love both of those pursuits. Soon enough, a cool Disco bassline enters and swirling sounds will take you by surprise. The tune then gets kicking into a prolonged musical statement that is a brilliant and clever musical remix. Noel’s vocals are like a stream of consciousness to listen to, sounding really cool and excellent. The funky Fender guitars eventually enter and this is cool beyond definition. This is fairly repetitive, but then again, so is Underworld’s music, which isn’t too dissimilar to this in terms of musical structure. The call-and-response between bass guitar and electric guitar is fantastic here, before Noel’s vocals become front and centre here. Bop along to this tune, this is a killer remix. Although the vocals are looped here a bit too much, this still is a great listen. A fantastic, thoughtful and excellently structured remix effort. Eventually, the instrumental section returns and we are flung into outer space in an inner space of mind. Pleasant and cool, Noel Gallagher and crew show the world that after all these years, NG is still the chief and does sonic remixes with a little help from his friends, too. Enjoyable and listenable, albeit perhaps a little lengthy and repetitive, this is a really awesome listening experience and remix to hear. This is something that DJs easily could add to a set, if they felt brave enough to do so, which most DJs are not. A real great sonic trip, this also includes the dirty sounding guitar solo, which is really cool and awesome. Once that concludes, Noel Gallagher gets his groove on with a dazzling set of remixed textures. Amazing listening. If the 1960s proved that the future of music could be Psychedelic, intellectual and interesting, this is proved right here decades later on. Some drum rolls occur with Noel’s repeated vocals, before this progresses nicely towards the end. A really excellent listening experience, this sounds really cool and thoroughly awesome. Towards the end, this gets more minimal and beat heavy, with the bassline gurgling away well. Hats off to the mixer, The Reflex, who did a fantastic job here. Awesome, stunning and cool, it ends with just the beats alone. Great to listen to from start to end.

This is an underrated EP that deserves more claim and appraise than what it received at the time. Noel Gallagher proved that, in his own way, imaginative music can be made with heart and soul that captivates newer and older generations together musically. Should you listen to this EP? Do give it a whirl, especially if you like Disco, House Music or anything similar in a beat heavy way and you like Noel Gallagher’s solo efforts.

Cool moves, NG.

9/10