Remember Pete Doherty?
One of the great love-him-or-hate-him characters of our century. Like that other great self-destructive icon Johnny Thunders, it seemed every time Doherty picked up a guitar it made its way on tape.
Whether you thought Doherty was the rightful heir to Morrissey and Joe Strummer or not, it was hard to deny he knew his way around a melody.
We haven't heard from his band Babyshambles in nearly 6 years. Although there were quite a few negative reviews at the time, the band's 2005 debut Down in Albion is one of my favorite albums of the last ten years. Critics called it a mess, but it showed Pete at his best, anthemic punk (the single "F*ck Forever") and aspiring songwriterism ("Albion") and plenty of odds and ends and in between.
We haven't heard from Pete in awhile. We followed his every self-destructive move at this blog, which seems a bit improper in the wake of Amy Winehouse's death. He released a solo album in 2009 which was competent, but did not particularly engage me. the last couple of years spent on Doherty's acting career.
So, the comeback, then?
It's hard to call it disappointing, but I think that is the word. While I hate to fall for the cliche "They were better before they were sober" Aerosmith-style-isms, it is a drop in quality. To be fair, were it not for Doherty's promise, it would follow the pretty standard 'disappointing 3rd album' career.
I blame Steven Street although it may not be his fault. Surely, it seems like the album is treated in the same way as Street's previous projects like The Cranberries and Morrissey. Babyshambles need a rougher mix.
Which this would be where I would argue it isn't a bad record. Were it not from a Libertines alumni, but a Libertines influenced band like, say Tribes, it might be heralded.
In fact, while the first part of the album never succeeds despite its best efforts to meet its aspirations (single "Nothing comes to Nothing" sounds like the aforementioned xeroxed-copy of the Libs, and falls short of being inspiring), what would be side B has some strong moments.
The title track sequenced seventh finally shows the band reaching out to its heroes The Faces and the Kinks to positive effect. "Dr No" recalls The Clash's particular brand of reggae.
On paper, "Penguins' might be the worst thing about the album ("We could see monkeys, we could snakes/we could see penguins, oh penguins are great") with lyrics literally about seeing penguins at the zoo (with aplologies to def_fr0g_42), the song itself is close to the band's shambolic best. "Picture Me in a Hospital" similarly shows why you liked the band in the first place (if indeed you did).
It's a case of little-too-late and a case of not-enough-of-the-good-stuff. Still, it's hard to count Doherty completely out, and we will see what is next.
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