Noel Gallagher Says ‘Chasing Yesterday’ Will Make You ‘Punch the Air While Crying’

In an interview with NME, Noel Gallagher described the tracks on ‘Chasing Yesterday' -- his sophomore effort with his band, the High Flying Birds -- as “songs that make you kind of punch in the air while crying a little bit.”

“It’s the Irish in me, that’s what we do. We’re never happy. We rage joy,” he continued. “Even [Oasis song] ‘Some Might Say,’ for instance, is a very melancholic Irish kind of anthem.”

Gallagher also said he invited Johnny Marr to contribute to a track on the High Flying Birds’ 2013 self-titled debut, but the ex-Smiths guitarist wasn’t available at the time. Now, Marr appears on the ‘Chasing Yesterday’ single, ‘Ballad of the Mighty I,’ for what Gallagher describes as some much-needed “funk.”

“I tried to get him on the last record because there’s a bit in ‘AKA … What a Life!’ that I thought needed a bit of funk, and he’s got the funk, but he couldn’t do it, so I had to do it,” he explained. “And I was embarrassed doing it because I haven’t got the funk.”

‘Chasing Yesterday’ will hit stores in early March, then Gallagher and company will hit the road for a North American tour in May. See the full list of dates here.