This album has already been acclaimed by the music press, but I reckon they're reviewing the band's soap opera - the three-way relationship between Carl Barat, Pete Doherty and Pete's drugs - not the music. In fact, two wonderful, nakedly autobiographical songs (Can't Stand Me Now and What Became of the Likely Lads) book-end an album that often intrigues, but usually disappoints, a frustrating waste typified by two Morrissey pastiches that start brilliantly but end drearily, when they should explode. The producer, Mick Jones, has gone down the "capture the spirit" route; but, too often (Road to Ruin, Campaign of Hate, Music When the Lights Go Out), there isn't much spirit to capture. Perhaps Jones should have pushed them harder; perhaps Doherty can't be pushed.
Rough Trade