Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, “Council Skies.”

Freed from the branding of his incredibly famous band, Oasis, Noel Gallagher has become a bit of a musical chameleon. If I were a betting man, I’d say you could play Council Skies, the latest solo album with his band High Flying Birds for 100 people, and not a single one would guess it was him. Listeners might guess Coldplay or even The Smiths.

He composed and recorded it during lockdown in his new home studio. The result is an album that’s both intimate and varied. The opener, “I’m Not Giving Up Tonight” has a bit of a “Hey Children What’s That Sound?” vibe with lots of reverb on the drums and strummed acoustic guitar. Gallagher belts some big notes in the song, which feels a little out of character, but not out of place in the song. He also sounds weirdly American as he sings the song’s anthemic chorus, “I just want to say darling that I’m not giving up tonight.”

While the first song feels nostalgic, second track “Pretty Boy” feels thoroughly modern with EDM-inspired drum loops and throbbing bass. The song’s delicate acoustic guitar was supplied by Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr. The driving drums and simple vocal melody almost sound like Kraftwerk.

“Beneath the starry sky/ Of a distant moon/ At the magic moment/ That’s gonna come too soon/ There was a girl like me/ There was a boy like you/ She made him sing like Elvis/ When she’s feeling blue,” Noel Gallagher delivers the  verse in a quasi-robotic falsetto.

Lush string arrangements add pomp and circumstance to just about every song. Rosie Danvers, a cellist and arranger who’s worked with everyone from Adele to Kanye, scored the album’s strings. The production on “Trying to Find a World That’s Been and Gone” is especially ornate with wind sounds and swelling orchestrations that add intensity to the second half of the relatively simple ballad. “Open the Door, See What You Find” features lush string melodies and the sounds of church bells.

Other songs are a little more stripped down. “Easy Now” evokes comparisons to Coldplay with its moody instrumentation and the way the song seems to pick up momentum as it goes, eventually breaking into a soaring guitar solo. “Love is a Rich Man” sounds a little like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with a driving beat and overdriven guitars. “There She Goes” gives off some vintage Beatles vibes.

There’s sometimes a bit of a paint-by-numbers feel to the album. Often, when a musician has both the time and space to create music, the result lacks some of the tension and strain necessary to produce great art. Perhaps the brother-against-brother antagonism of Noel and Liam within Oasis provided a magic spark. Fans will find much to love about the album, which incorporates everything from Motown to EDM. Casual listeners may seek out something with more emotional immediacy.

Follow writer David Gill at Twitter.com/saxum_paternus.