Pete Doherty is nothing short of an indie rock legend. In the early noughties, his band the Libertines championed the UK leg of the garage rock revival with brilliant single after brilliant single. He quickly became a UK tabloid darling thanks to his drug-fueled antics and high profile romances. After the Libs’ inevitable split, Doherty formed Babyshambles, a particularly Libertines-esque group.
Babyshambles enjoyed commercial success in their native UK and abroad. After the release and touring of Babyshambles’ sophomore record Shotter’s Nation in 2007, the band went on hiatus allowing its members to focus on solo projects (including Doherty’s own solo album Grace/Wastelands in 2009). In early 2013, rumbles of a Babyshambles return made music press headlines, and today everything came to fruition: Babyshambles’ third studio album, Sequel to the Prequel, is due out on Parlophone Records September 2.
Sequel to the Prequel’s first single “Nothing Comes to Nothing” is a mellow indie rock tune; its guitar intro wouldn’t be out of place on an old Gin Blossoms song. Doherty’s distinctive vocals are better suited to faster, wilder rock making “Nothing Comes to Nothing” sound a bit awkward. The other new track making the rounds, “Farmer’s Daughter,” is a similarly melancholy effort. Doherty’s toned-down vocals suit this one a bit better.
At this point, Doherty seems to be writing songs for grown-up Libertines fans. While containing the iconic chord changes that made the Carl Barat/Doherty songwriting duo famous, the new Babyshambles tracks reflect a more mature (and sometimes slightly dull) songsmith.