Peter Doherty: Felt Better Alive

★★★★★

The Libertines frontman’s first true solo album in almost a decade, Felt Better Alive is a sometimes-eclectic, strong collection of songs. Starting of strong with Calvados, the folky vibes of each songs makes them easy to listen to— alongside Doherty’s illustrious lyrical storytelling, though sometimes veering into nonsensical, both music and words help to paint a perfect picture with each song. We get another Doherty/Barât co-write in the form of the silly Out of Tune Balloon, which shows how natural the pair’s songwriting seems to come. The standout moment for indie-rock fans will be Poca Mahoney’s (feat. Lisa O’Neill), an almost Babyshambles-esque sounding song which listeners of Doherty’s other music may find more familiar. O’Neill’s vocals add an extra layer so an already bursting-at-the-seams song, making at all the more interesting sonically. Album-closer Empty Room is almost sounds as if it could be a Bob Dylan song, with only a jangly acoustic guitar accompanying the vocals. Throughout the album, there are moments that evoke other folk singers, like Ed Belly’s Pete Seeger-ish sound and melody. If you told someone who didn’t know who Peter Doherty is that most of these songs came out 60, 70, even 80 years ago, they’d probably believe you: that’s the kind of imagery they build. Particularly with their rough-around-the-edges production quality that suits them oh-so-well, these songs already sound as if they’re classics. And, in the years to come, probably will if people can get over the image of Peter Doherty they have built in their heads.

Top Tracks: Stade Océan, Poca Mahoney’s (feat. Lisa O’Neill), Prêtre de la Mer

For fans of: The Libertines (obviously), Bob Dylan, Jeff Buckley