Music

With the dawn of this second album by you know who, Babyshambles enthusiasts are waving their trilbies about and (all too smugly) saying they told you so. He is a genius. But hold on a second. One decent album – which admittedly, this is – does not a genius make. Especially one that flashes the common-as-muck influence of The Kinks, Billy Childish, Oasis vs Blur and Ian Brown, all of whom your average indie urchin is copying down the Dublin Castle tonight. Nobody would even consider canonising fellow Britpop borrowers and Stephen Street productions Kaiser Chiefs and at least they’ve written a catchy ditty.

You’d have to be deaf to suggest that Doherty is any more inventive than Ricky Wilson and co, but the agreeable difference is that Doherty’s music is raw, heart-on-sleeve and more alive than the regimental Kaisers. The scratchy garage, jangly riffs and clear production (thanks, Parlophone) are refreshing after the mumbly tosh of ‘Down In Albion’. There are songs, too (gasp!), some rip-roaring, like ‘Crumb Begging’, some tender and puppy-eyed, like ‘UnBilo Titled’ and ‘UnStookie Titled’. Musically at least, ‘Shotter’s Nation’ is more direct, put into clean(er) focus by new guitarist Mick Whitnall, who has taken on Carl Barât’s tempering role. But it’s still just decent indie rock and there should be no seismic shifts in perception simply because he’s taken his thumb out of his arse.

And what about Pete The Poet? The Rimbaud-reading one has already shown his talent for AS-level ‘poetry’ in his collection of writing. But if you’re listening for more funnies (in an ‘Office’ kind of way), you’ll be disappointed. If you’ve picked up a paper in the last two years you’ll know what this album is about: Moss, crack, guilt, doing bad stuff. And his well-read teen diary entries – ‘I’ll lay down and die if I can’t lay by your side’ – just don’t make it any more interesting. ‘Shotter’s Nation’ is much better than expected, but if this is the masterpiece, expectations are low.