Between various court appearances stemming from a steady stream of drug charges, ex-Libertines frontman Pete Doherty found the time in 2005 to put out an album in the UK with his new band, Babyshambles.
Just released in the U.S., "Down in Albion," shows hints of the greatness Doherty achieved on previous albums - most notably the Libertines' "Up the Bracket" (2002) - but they remain just those: mere hints. Overall, his newest effort feels unpolished, even unfinished.
For those unfamiliar with the British press, Doherty has been a staple of the nightly news in his native country for years now. The Libertines was formed as a collaboration between Doherty and his flatmate, Carl Bar??t; their first album, "Up the Bracket" was widely praised upon its release in 2002.
By 2003, however, Doherty was addicted to drugs and even broke into Bar??t's house, stealing a laptop and an antique guitar. The former offense got him kicked out of the band; the latter landed him in prison for three months. The two rekindled their professional collaboration upon Doherty's release, and the Libertines both resumed touring and put out a second album in 2004. Once again, though, Doherty's drug problems resulted in his expulsion from the band following the album's release.
A complete list of Doherty's run-ins with the authorities and quarrels with other bands would fill a tome. More recently, it was his high-profile and short-lived relationship with Kate Moss that has garnered the most popular attention. The two were spotted together in early 2005 and began dating, but Doherty's lifestyle would prove to be the downfall of the international supermodel. Pictures surfaced last September that showed Moss allegedly using cocaine at one of his recording sessions, and, as a result, she lost several multi-million dollar modeling contracts. Needless to say, the two have since parted ways.
"Down in Albion" draws both its strengths and weaknesses from the fact that the album stylistically picks up right where the Libertines' 2004 self-titled album left off. Doherty's voice dominates just about every track, much like it did on that album.
One song in particular, "What Katy Did Next," seems to be a follow-up to that album's "What Katie Did," although this time the tempo is slower and the guitar riff less inspiring. The reference to Kate Moss being clear, it seems Doherty wants to remind listeners of the heartbreak he's experiencing but can't find it in him to write a decent song about it.
Other tracks are just as woefully derivative. "8 Dead Boys" and "Loyalty Song" feature Doherty acting as a shell of his former self. It's as though the band has compiled all the required elements - wandering guitars, Doherty's signature vocals and an upbeat drum line - but forgotten to inject the excitement and unpredictability that brought the Libertines fame in the first place. If Babyshambles can't get excited about the music they're producing, why should their listeners?
"Pentonville," probably a reference to Doherty's time in a prison of the same name, is not a song so much as a series of heavily accented shouts and chants that any self-respecting producer would have left on the cutting room floor.
Despite these shortcomings, Albion does manage to glow for a few songs. "La Belle Et La B??te" is one such song, with a shadowy and seductive baseline that more than makes up for its uninspired lyrics. Doherty rambles on (presumably about Kate Moss yet again): "Is she more beautiful, is she more beautiful / Is she more beautiful than me?"
The title track, "Albion," is another popularly acclaimed song, partly because it sounds more like something you'd hear around a campfire than at a rock concert.
Libertines fans won't be acutely disappointed by the Babyshambles' album, nor will they be delighted. For die-hard fans, the chance to hear Pete Doherty shine, even briefly and sporadically, will be worth the album price as well as the time spent sifting through the less harmonious tracks. Casual listeners and rock fans, on the other hand, would be well advised to skip this latest offering and simply pray that Doherty can pull his life together long enough to produce the type of album he is clearly capable of.
