Last month marked the return of the sensational four-piece rock band, Oasis...

The group, headed by brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher, soared into the UK album charts with the long-awaited release of Dig Out Your Soul, the band's first studio album in four years.

The album features a handful of strong, energized tunes reminiscent of old-school Oasis but it also seems as if the band are attempting to dip their toes into experimental waters, combining new instruments and an odd change of tempo and rhythm.

For this album, Noel said he set out "to write music that has a groove" so we have helter skelter drum fills, a sample from John Lennon's final radio interview, a coda to The Turning stolen from Dear Prudence and lyrical references to Lennon's Gimme Some Truth which all render Dig out Your Soul a bit different from previous Oasis albums. The album has a cartoon-like attraction featuring various sound recordings and unusual instruments such as bells and even sitars which join the footsteps on beaches, police sirens and bleeping games.

Get Off Your High Horse Lady definitely shows the band re-inventing themselves in the form of a hypnotic sluggish rhythm which pushes Liam's stoned vocal vocoder along and the opener Bag It Up offers a kind of grimy freakbeat with quirky lyrics such as Liam declaring "I got my heebeegeebees in a little bag".

Their Beatles influences are ever-present from the Lennon-esque piano-led ballad in I'm Outta Time to the Dear Prudence guitar which ends The Turning. The dirty guitar on Waiting For the Rapture is reminiscent of the Doors and Ain't Got Nothin' shows signs of The Who's influence.

The lead single, The Shock of the Lightning, brings back vintage Oasis and memories of What's the Story Morning Glory? If you're a fan of the original material, this will be a favourite. Noel claims the compelling and instant nature of this track is because it was written and recorded dead fast: "The first time you record something is always the best". This pacey, energized rock-out tune where "love is a time-machine up on a silver screen" redeems the album and although not original, reminds us why we love Oasis. 

Whatever criticism the boys may be facing over this change of musical heart it is clear that, to quote the title of the last song of the album, they will inevitably Soldier On.

Dig Out Your Soul (Big Brother Records) was released on October 6th.

Click here for the official Oasis website to keep up to date with the latest news and releases.