The Libertines are a band that have always been on the brink of collapse.
However, for a while now the band have enjoyed an uncharacteristic period of stability.
They were formed in London, the creation of poet-genius-addict Pete Doherty and his songwriting partner Carl Barât. John Hassall and Gary Powell join them on bass and drums respectively.
They gained fame with their energetic, post-punk sound and poetic lyrics, releasing their acclaimed debut Up the Bracket in 2002.
However, internal conflicts and substance abuse issues, particularly with Doherty, led to an album and their hiatus in 2004, leaving behind a blooming new UK indie sleaze scene, and a sense of what could have been if they could have worked it all out. They reunited in 2010 but have only managed to release one album since, until now.
This all leads us to here with the fourth album – All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade. It is said all is well now in camp Libertines. Rehab, time and maturity have healed the bands wounds that led to their break-up in 2002.
The album began in September 2022 with a Jamaican song-writing session from Pete and Carl. Fast forward to February 2023 and Peter and Carl regrouped with John and Gary at The Albion Rooms, The Libertines hotel and recording studio.
All, they say, went smoothly from there. Peter says: “We really came together as a band. It was a moment of rare peace and unity, with all the members contributing.”
The first song on the album is the first single Run Run Run – a singalong indie anthem from Carl, which is about escaping the past whilst invoking the anthemic indie synonymous with the band. The song is a tad generic and lacks the creativity of their best work, but it does grow on you as you listen more.
The second single from the album is Peter’s Night of the Hunter, an invocation of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. It begins with the refrain: “Love and hate, tattooed on the knuckles round the handles of a blade” and in typical Doherty fashion, it masterfully interweaves together violence and beauty.
It is almost as beautiful as the third single Shiver, the best song on the album, with its themes of love and loss set up alongside beautiful production as the poetic lyricism of Doherty once again steals the show.
Mustang is also an album highlight. It is a fun, playful tune with a Strokes-esque riff, which features Carl singing about a girl named Tracy in a gossipy, soap-opera style.
Have a Friend is next which has great spiky guitar lines along with Peter and Carl’s call-and-response lyricism. The song’s refrain that “It’s hard to feel alright, when you’re being brutalised” rings true given the world we currently live in.
The Libertines have in fact become very focused on the world we live in, swapping it in for the tales of their own demise that previously dominated the albums. Merry Old England is a great tune with beautiful imagery about how immigrants are treat by us here. Be Young looks at the threat of climate change.
Perhaps without the subtext of the band’s legendary, almost mythic story and status, All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade is not going to be an all-time classic.
But it is a great album from a band many never thought would, or could, release another.
We cannot return to 2002, but the Libertines aren’t trying to. The reflective, introspective and mature new album, along with the untied front that the band now represents, could be a new era for the band all together.
Rating: 7/10
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