Pete Doherty. Felt Better Alive. It’s hard to shake the memory of Doherty as the self-destructive nuisance of the Noughties. But that Pete – the junkie and the jailbird who co-wrote Libertines gems like Can’t Stand Me Now – is gone. This new Pete is relatively sober; a happily married father, struggling with type 2 diabetes and orthopaedic shoes. And you can hear the difference. Doherty’s his first solo album for nine years is more folk than rock, closer in feel to his Babyshambles song What Katie Did than the raucous punk of What A Waster. He goes country on the title track, an upbeat acoustic number that tips a musical Stetson to Nashville legend Marty Robbins. ‘I dreamt of gunfights in Toledo, when I opened my eyes, I was in the lay-by north of Telford,’ Doherty sings as it canters along like Roy Rogers on Trigger.
The eleven tracks skip between innocence and openness. Pot Of Gold is a mid-tempo lullaby for his youngest child, daughter Billie-May, two this month: ‘And if that lullaby is a hit…we’ll forget about the times, when they always tried to run me out of town…’ The album opens with Calvados – a gentle folk song celebrating two Normandy neighbours who make apple brandy: ‘The apples will grow, the barrels will roll, soon to become liquid gold, and the Calvados will flow.’ Dreamy psych-folk foot-tapper Stade Oceane celebrates his local team, Le Havre AC. Ed Belly is bouncy and playful, while the whimsical story of The Day The Baron Died, a leisurely reboot of the Libertines’ Baron’s Claw, combines a jaunty feel with a Macca-style chorus. Out Of Tune Balloon sounds like the sort of song Ringo would have sung on a later Beatles album. Doherty’s songwriting skills are still formidable but his voice, more exposed on gentler numbers, is the weakest link. An acquired taste perhaps.
The Amazons. 21st Century Fiction. A bold orchestral opening misdirects before the riff of Living A Lie ushers in a huge slice of arena rock. The Berkshire indie band have blossomed into something beefier, marking that transition with tough tracks like the driving Love Is A Dog From Hell, My Blood (with Royal Blood) and Stonesy boogie Pitch Black. The album tackles contemporary issues, not least what it means to be a man now.
Billy Nomates. Metalhorse. Billy – Tor Maries – broadens her early punky style on a concept album comparing life to a run-down fairground. Upbeat alt-pop belter Plans is like “getting on the Waltzers at the end of the world”. Downers – including a recent MS diagnosis – won’t sour her vision. Highs? Propulsive gem The Test, ballad Strange Gift and the bewitchingly potent Dark Horse Friend featuring Hugh Cornwell.
The Kooks. Never/Know. The Brighton duo reboot the sounds of the swinging 60s on their 7th album, with dreamy, harmony-kissed retro-pop songs like Sunny Baby and If They Could Only Know. Compass Will Fracture sweeps in like a watered-down Kinks before building to a wah-wah guitar frenzy. Tough At The Top leaps forward a decade hitting an early Police white reggae vibe.