Beirut, Babyshambles, Balderdash
- 3 Oct 07, 08:17 PM
If the new album was a piece of household furniture, it would be an ashtray. Piled high with butts and party detritus, barely functional, unclean and sorry. Of course, Pete Doherty still wants us to believe that there΅―s a kind of beauty in this disorder, that he΅―s Baudelaire in Ben Sherman.
His new record really is irksome. I΅―m tired of the junky vernacular, the lack of consonants and the shrugging distain. Significantly, he΅―s got a picture of Chatterton on the cover, another lousy poet who copped a bit of fame after dying young and troubled. Unfortunately, Docherty is leaving behind a trail of increasingly drab records. His legacy can no longer be a couple of fascinating excursions with the Libertines.
On the contrary, I΅―m getting a real bang out of the latest album, ΅®The Flying Club Cup΅―. Like its predecessor, Gulag Orkestar΅―, it΅―s a soundtrack to an imaginary film, with Zach Condon cranking up the strings, the accordions, horns and the obligatory ukulele. He΅―s sings about impossible love, powerful liasions and glowering vistas.
So to return to the original metaphor, what kind of furniture would this record be? Oh, a malacca rocking chair, elegantly frayed. With a hint of frankincense and draped with a brocade antimacassar. Or something. You gotta have it.
Stu Bailie presents The Late show on Radio Ulster, every Friday from 10pm until midnight. See his playlist here.
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Can never understand the attraction that is Pete Doherty! At least Amy Winehouse has talent! Pete is like A car crash, is that what people like? How is he still not in jail? The mystery deepens! Maybe he's a secret agent!
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Your judgement hey...while entitled to your opinion it seems to to me more based on the Sun/tabloid stuff, or an attempt to get in clever clever sub Lester Bangs type quotes rather than any reasoned judgement on the music,just a guess but did you write it before you had heard the cd.I thought for one moment I was reading the Daily Mail
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Actually I gave it a decent listen. I was quite partial to the 'Albion' album and was hoping for more of the same. It's not in the same class.
Not sure about the Daily Mail / Sun allegations. Is it uncool to believe that wanton drug abuse is a bit sad?
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