Any song that features one of the Gallagher brothers is guaranteed to have at least one thing: swagger. Swagger, bravado, and sheer bloody-mindedness is the fuel that powers Liam Gallagher, and his debut solo single is no exception. Take the video: it's amazing that a man on the wrong side of 40 can muster so much rock star cool just by standing and looking at the camera than any contemporary rock band. After all: they learned their moves from him.
That said, swagger can only get you so far, and all of the hilarious jabs at brother Noel doesn't amount to squat if you don’t have the music to back it up. "Wall of Glass" feels predictably like a throwback to the 90s. That's not really a criticism in 2017 as a lot of 90s sounds are sneaking into current pop songs. Crucially, Liam, despite relying on the same old sound that sunk Beady Eye and made Oasis tiresome, has escaped feeling like a man out of time.
As predicted, by me at least, "Wall of Glass", while not feeling too old hat, isn't the triumphant return Liam expected. Sure, lots of fans love it but they've been happy with the same sound for over 25 years from this man. There are a few clever lines: nods to One Direction and the resurrection of Liam's career doubling as a loving nod to The Stone Roses is cute, but "Wall of Glass" can be summed up by a description of Be Here Now from Noel Gallagher: whenever Liam isn’t singing they fill the space with guitar riffs that can't really connect.
