It’s starting to feel like a very long time since the crashing arrival of The Libertines back in the late ’90s, but it looks like the likely lads are determined to keep on standing. Having returned last year with Anthems For Doomed Youth, the band’s first album following a thirteen year breakup, it was a welcome reunion for fans and now Pete Doherty has also found the time to put together his second solo album, Hamburg Demonstrations, following up on 2009’s Grace/Wastelands.
While his time with Babyshambles too up the majority of the intervening years from the initial Libertines stint, the band hasn’t done much since 2013’s Sequel To The Prequel. 2016 appears to be a solo year for the controversial front-man and the first spins of the new material sounds positive, so it could be one to look out for.
Release date
Hamburg Demonstrations will be out on CD, heavyweight vinyl LP digital download and even cassette, so it’s pretty much covering all the bases. It’ll be making its way to a record store near you on the 2nd December 2016, so it will probably be making its way into a few socks by the 25th along with some satsumas, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle figures and the occasional Curly Wurly.
Singles
Two singles have made it out of Pete Doherty’s bonse ahead of the album release and both are already available for digital download from the likes of Amazon and iTunes. The first is slowmo alt rock lullaramble called I Don’t Love Anyone (but You’re Not Just Anyone), which has an addictive rhythm and a smart contradictory concept to the lyrics. Things don’t really get much quicker on The Whole World Is Our Playground, but it moves in more playful directions with a faints tinges of jazz and surf guitar.
While both tracks are on the slower side there’s also a little of the old wordsmith skills that made The Libertines such an epic debut album. There are also hints of his previous work with Babyshambles too, but without it feeling too much like a trip down memory lane, with an acoustic guitar focus driving them along. You can listen to I Don’t Love Anyone (but You’re Not Just Anyone) in the audio music video below.
Hamburg Demonstrations track list:
- Kolly Kibber
- Down for the Outing
- Birdcage
- Hell to Pay at the Gates of Heaven
- Flags from the Old Regime
- I Don’t Love Anyone (but You’re Not Just Anyone) V2
- A Spy in the House of Love (Demo Vocals)
- Oily Boker
- I Don’t Love Anyone (but You’re Not Just Anyone)
- The Whole World Is Our Playground
- She Is Far
First impressions
The opening singles from Hamburg Demonstrations don’t really do enough to hit you with any real intensity, but they are two sweet tracks that blur the lines between indie pop and alt rocks. Hopefully, with another nine tracks in the confines of the record there will be a little more attack to go with the humbler songs that are out ahead of the album release.
