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Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds released their new album “Council Skies,” via Sour Mash Records on Friday, June 2, 2023. You can listen to the single here, and watch the music video for the title track here.
Noel reflects, “All the dreams I had as a youth were underneath council skies.” The track opens an introspective and personal commentary on Noel’s most formative years, and the wider themes of the forthcoming album. Wistful and evocative, the track has layered instrumentation, including strings recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios.
In keeping with the themes of Council Skies, the single is accompanied by a new video filmed in Manchester, England, and captures the band performing inside the city’s stunning historic venue New Century Hall - a key location in Manchester’s musical heritage, having hosted performances by Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones. Directed by long-time High Flying Birds collaborators Dan Cadan and Jonathan Mowatt, the music video also features a cameo from musician John Robb of The Membranes, another Mancunian legend.
This latest single was the fourth to be revealed from the upcoming album, following “Pretty Boy” featuring Johnny Marr, “Easy Now" and “Dead To The World,” which Noel says is, “by some distance my favourite tune on the album.” All tracks have received critical acclaim from media and fans alike, with SPIN declaring “Noel’s lyrics are as inscrutable as ever.”
A decade since the formation of High Flying Birds and having achieved four UK No. 1 albums, Council Skies, which was produced by Noel and Paul “Strangeboy” Stacey, is the band's fourth studio album and Noel’s most complete solo statement to date. The artwork, shot by renowned Manchester photographer Kevin Cummins, sees Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ live equipment set up in the original center spot of what was Maine Road Football Stadium. 2023 marks 100 years since the ground was opened and forever remains Manchester City FC's spiritual home.
Council Skies is available to order now. The previously released Robert Smith remix of “Pretty Boy” is featured on deluxe limited-edition formats, which also include a stunning live version of “Live Forever” and a remix from Pet Shop Boys. A printed handwritten lyric sheet of title track “Council Skies” will be included with all album pre-orders via the official store.
The release of Council Skies will kickstart a huge live season for the band, starting with a 26-date US co-headlining tour with alternative rockers Garbage that set out on June 2nd. The full run of US dates are below, and you can find tickets here.
2023 North American Tour:
June 2nd, 2023 – Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre
June 3rd, 2023 – Ridgefield, WA – RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater
June 6th, 2023 – Concord, CA – Concord Pavilion
June 7th, 2023 – Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl
June 9th, 2023 – Los Angeles, CA – The Greek Theatre
June 10th, 2023 – San Diego, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
June 11th, 2023 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
June 13th, 2023 – Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre
June 15th, 2023 – Denver, CO – Levitt Pavilion Denver
June 17th, 2023 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
June 18th, 2023 – Del Valle, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater
June 21st, 2023 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
June 22nd, 2023 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
June 24th, 2023 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
June 25th, 2023 – Franklin, TN – FirstBank Amphitheater
June 27th, 2023 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
June 28th, 2023 – Madison, WI – Breese Stevens Field
June 29th, 2023 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
July 1st, 2023 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
July 3rd, 2023 – Toronto, OH – Budweiser Stage*
July 6th, 2023 – Clarkson, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
July 8th, 2023 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
July 10th, 2023 – New York, NY – Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage
July 13th, 2023 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion
July 14th, 2023 – Philadelphia, PA – TD Pavilion at the Mann
July 15th, 2023 – Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall at Fenway
*without Metric
Deluxe Album Tracklist:
Disc 1:
- 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
Disc 2:
- Don’t Stop…
- We’re Gonna Get There In The End
- Mind Games
- Pretty Boy (Instrumental)
- Dead To The World (Instrumental)
- Council Skies (Instrumental)
- Think Of A Number (Instrumental)
- I’m Not Giving Up Tonight (David Holmes Remix)
- Think Of A Number (Pet Shop Boys Magic Eye 12” Remix)
- Pretty Boy (Robert Smith Remix)
- Council Skies (The Reflex Revision)
- Flying On The Ground (Radio 2 Session, 08.09.21)
- You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere (Radio 2 Session, 08.09.21)
- Live Forever (Radio 2 Session, 08.09.21)
About Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds:
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds first emerged in 2011 with their eponymous album released in October that year. It has sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide. Three No. 1 albums followed, marking a decade of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and culminating in 12 consecutive UK No. 1 album across Noel’s career, a feat no other artist has ever achieved.
In the two decades prior to its break up in 2009, Noel Gallagher was main songwriter, lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of Oasis, whom The New Yorker hailed as “one of the last generation-defining rock acts.” His band regularly toured America and played a tremendous role in shaping and inspiring contemporary guitar music from the '90s onwards. Noel’s continued success with the High Flying Birds cements his position as one of the most gifted, successful and enduring songwriters to come out of the British music scene in the last 50 years.
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Robert Kinsler
