Peter Doherty - Grace/Wastelands

"Oh look, its that skaghead from the libertines releasing a solo album, thats going to be a shambles..."

Pete Doherty, or Peter as he likes to be referred to now, has always been a misunderstood young man. A father, a lover, a poet and, as the sun remind us every other day, a recovering heroin addict. So much attention has been put on his private life that its easy to forget that his first band changed british rock music in a way not seen since britpop made everyone listen to guitar bands again. It was the kind of revival that only happens once a decade, but their mix of politics, romance, noise, passion and general britishness inspired every teenager to listen to 'proper' music again. Me included. 7 years is a long time, what can peter do on his own?

Well, as much as he could do with the libertines and babyshambles, apparently. Early libertines demos have been remixed, rewritten, and rehashed into songs that have appeared on every single album peter has released, from up the bracket to shotters nation, and 'Grace/Wastelands' is no exception. 'Sheepskin Tearaway' has been about for nearly a decade, but now seems an appropriate time to put it onto record. '1938 Returning', although a new track, sounds like peter found an old diary from his teenage years and nicked some old poetry from it. To be honest, i wouldnt be suprised if he did, and that seems to be the albums flaw. Although none of it is in anyway insultingly poor, its just.... over produced libertines demos. And the beauty of the old libertines demos was their complete rawness.

Steven street produced the album, and added an awful lot of string sections and woodwind arrangements. Even with his previous production credits, and the great job he did on 'shotters nation', his work here is a great disappointment. Where wolfman added great depth on 'for lovers', 'grace/wastelands' sounds flat, uninspired, recycled and middle-of-the-road for the majority.

There is a few redeeming songs though. 'i am the rain' is a lighthearted beatles-esque halfway point, and 'sweet by and by' really shows peters musical credentials and style. But at the end of it, its a disappointing debut. Peter seems to be better suited making noise in dirty venues or playing acoustic tunes in dirty squats, not trying to appeal to the audience that haunts him in the media.

5/10

Sam Smith