Gallagher Squire

A press release for the single promises Squire’s “instantly unforgettable psychedelia-tinged guitar” met with “passion, personality and utmost conviction” from Gallagher’s vocal.

John Squire sent three demos to Liam Gallagher earlier this year. ‘Just Another Rainbow’ stood out, with initial sessions taking place at John’s own studio in Macclesfield.

Completed in Los Angeles, the final results were produced by Greg Kurstin – who also plays bass on the record – while drums come courtesy of Joey Waronker.

In a note, John Squire says… “To me the most obvious take on ‘Just Another Rainbow’ is that it’s about disappointment, and the sentiment is that you never get what you really want. But I don’t like to explain songs, I think that’s the privilege of the listener, it’s whatever you want it to be. To me, it’s also one of the most uplifting tracks we’ve made together, which is weird.”

Liam adds: “I think John’s a top songwriter. Everyone always bangs on about him as a guitarist, but he’s a top songwriter too, man, no two ways about it as far as I’m concerned. There’s not enough of his music out there, whether it’s with the Roses or himself. It’s good to see him back writing songs and fucking good ones. The melodies are mega and then the guitars are a given. But I think even when you take all the fucking guitars off, you can play the songs all on acoustic and they’ll all still blow your mind.”

The Guardian was given an early listen to the LP. With an appealingly raw, crunching and immediate production sound, the energised songs are at the heavy end of Britpop with stomping rhythms, burly riffs and poignant, brightly melodious top lines. Blues, garage and psych-rock are also major components, and unsurprisingly, the Beatles are a touchstone, namely the pop-psychedelia of their post-Revolver period. Though when asked about the rumoured duo’s album on X in October, without outright confirming it, Gallagher replied with typical swagger: “It’s the best record since Revolver … I’m being humble it pisses all over it.”

Another song title namechecks a freewheeling story by the American journalist-novelist Tom Wolfe, and the Squire-penned lyrics are quite spiky at times: “Make it up as you go along / Nobody knows any better than you ... thank you for your thoughts and prayers and fuck you too,” Gallagher sings at one point.

The first single, Just Another Rainbow – which somewhat evokes the Stone Roses’ Waterfall and has a funky, spirited solo from Squire – will be released on 5 January.