All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade

The Libertines

explicit

Released on 4/5/24 by EMI
Main artists: The Libertines
Genre: Alternative & Indie

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Drummer Gary Powell and bassist John Hassall provide the Libertines necessary structure and foundation, but it is the wonderfully rococo decorations of terror twins Carl Barât and Pete Doherty that give the band its bloody emotion: the charming devil rascality that lives up to the name. Their first album in nine years finds the foursome cleaner (presumably, in multiple meanings of the word) and tighter than the deliciously dangerous-sounding records that helped define post-Britpop in the aughts, yet it still feels like a natural progression. Single "Run Run Run" is pretty classic Libertines: romantic garage rock, pulled off with an imperious dishevelment that could ignite a dancefloor. Barât delivers the nihilism with a chip on his shoulder, crooning, "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to/ Light the fuse, sing the blues, I can die if I want to/ Tonight we're gonna bring tomorrow's happiness." Sunny "Mustangs" finds the band borrowing from Lou Reed and glam; cowbell, Doherty's falsetto back-up and what sounds like a full choir on the bridge add up to excellent chaos: "Sister Mary shivers—whooo!" Both tracks easily belong on a future Best Of. Doherty steps up with a slightly breathless delivery for the garage-meets-sea-chanty "I Have a Friend"—making room for Barât to unleash a fiery bit of guitar work—and "Merry Old England." The latter is a surprising adventure, packing in Latin percussion and '70s neo-soul, as well as melodramatic strings and fog-moody piano; it's the kind of epic they could not have pulled off in the bad old days. Strings and piano grandiosity also elevate the haunted ballad "Man with the Melody," while "Oh Shit" is bright and bouncy blue-collar pop-punk that sounds like a party in the studio. The same goes for "Be Young"—which marries a pub-singalong chorus, a searing guitar solo and even a Two-Tone breakdown; is it any wonder the whole thing ends in a coughing fit? Murder ballad "Night of the Hunter" injects a romantic Balkan feel into a Gallagher Bros. style melody, switching between a Greek Chorus narrator ("A-C-A-B/ Tattooed on your knuckles/ Does the world know what it means?") and the weary antagonist ("I was calling to tell you, baby/ They're taking me away for a while/ Ah, you can't blame me, it's this world that's made me"). Unvarnished "Baron's Claw" hints at Weimar cabaret mystery with drunken horn and tinkling piano. In the messy past, there was always a danger that things could just fall apart for the Libertines; now, there's a joy in hearing them keep it together. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz

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All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade

The Libertines

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