Throughout his career,
Pete Doherty has always been remarkably honest about drawing inspiration from his self-destruction. During his time with
the Libertines, his debauchery underscored the band's explosive, teetering-on-the-edge-of-chaos chemistry. But with his post-
Libertines group
Babyshambles (again, the name is up-front about
Doherty's modus operandi), he doesn't just teeter, he jumps right over the edge, as evidenced by the band's debut album,
Down in Albion, which is also heavily inspired by
Doherty's drug use and troubles with the law. Most of the album's songs are barely beyond the sketch level; some of them, like "A'Rebours" and "32nd of December" are like ragged little urchins, starved of the care and focus it would take to flesh out their promising bones. Even within the album's murkiness, however, hints of the promise and intermittent brilliance
Doherty had in
the Libertines can still be heard. Interestingly, the most theatrical tracks on
Down in Albion have the most clarity. "La Belle et la Bête," a duet between
Doherty and his infamous ex, Kate Moss, recasts the turmoil of their life together as meta-cabaret; "What Katy Did Next" brings back the character of his
Libertines songs for a tongue-in-cheek cautionary tale (you can practically see
Doherty's finger waggling as he sings, "If you play with fire, you will get burned"). Meanwhile, "Fuck Forever"'s choruses are rousing enough that you can almost buy into the nihilistic, romantic notion of
Doherty alternately escaping and diving into his pain, and "Loyalty Song" is so good that it sounds like it was channeled from some other album. ~ Heather Phares