April 3, 2009

Pete Doherty - Grace / Wasteland (2009)

I loved the two Libertines albums and Pete Doherty's contributions to their shambling, boys-on-the-brink sound, and so I've continued to follow him through his various groups and headlines. With Grace / Wasteland, it appears Dohetry's days of sloshing through sloppy garage rock are behind him. The album is mellow and mature, probably closest in tone to the "For Lovers" single he released as Wolfman. The album starts out strong, with the casual "Arcady" and "Last of the English Roses", the most fully developed and single worthy track. Other songs have their moments - some well place oh oh ohs on "I Am The Rain" and the moody strings on "A Little Death Around The Eyes" - but overall, most of the hooks seem to have been stripped away with the energy and mystique.

3 Comments:

Nightrain said...

Did Ralph Steadman do the album art?

Nightrain said...

Fine! I'll answer my own damn question. The album art is not Ralph Steadman, but apparently Alizé Meurisse. She's French.

awmercy said...

Here's a link to a related contest in case you are interested. You can win your own copy of the album and single.