Down In Albion - Babyshambles

...that may bring the track down in some people's estimation.

[7.5/10]

[Track 3 - A'rebours]

The guitar is much softer and the drums, whilst quick are much more civil than the previous tracks. The lyrics here and vocal delivery are much more of what we expect from Doherty this time. The bassline is funky when it is given some time at the fore and the drums build the chorus to a pleasant crescendo. Pete also ...
...lyrics are different and break down the track's title in the chorus. The bassline gives the track a pacey tempo throughout the verses and subsides for the harmonic and somewhat sing-a-long chorus. There are some nice, subtle instrumental touches and background melodies that liven up the song and the track is quite a mash-up f genres but succeeds in doing this well.

[7.5/10]

[Track 8 - 8 Dead Boys]

The ... more

'Down In Albion' is the debut album of Babyshambles, a post-punk indie group fronted by ex-Libertines frontman, Pete 'Everybody's favourite drug user' Doherty. The band was formed in the aftermath of the break-up of the Libertines and deviates in a slightlly different musical direction to that of the Libertines.

The rest of the band has not remained so constant. The band are on their third drummer, no longer have a second vocalist, they have had at least two different bassists and three rhythm guitar players. This is due to varying reasons, including drug problems for the departing members, the band's own drug abuse, musical disagreements, altercations with the band's management and various other dramas. If my maths is right, after 5 years, the band already has six former members, although much of this turmoil within the band's lineup occured after the release of 'Down In Albion.'

The album is presented as very plain, a light backdrop with The band's name and Album Title in a sort of hand-writingesque style. the interior of the case is a similar style, but with a few scribblings in the same style of font by Doherty and a couple of pictures. The CD itself is more vibrant and artistic, although presented with a sort of intentional scruffiness. The album contains 16 tracks and should keep you busy for about an hour. The album reached the UK Top 10 and spawned a few hit singles for the band.

The Album

[Track 1 - La Belle et La Bete]

This track is a good opener to the album and it's name translates in French as 'The Beauty and The Beast.' A tinny beat begins the song with a quick and prominent bassline and broken bursts on the drums. The bassline really is clever and makes the opening of the song very strong. Doherty's lyrics are deep and thoughtful and must have some relevance to his turbulent and public relationship with Kate Moss. In fact, the vocals on the chorus of "...is she more beautiful than me..." are actually sang by Kate Moss and Doherty joins her in the background of this chorus periodically. When the hook of the chorus mixes up wih the bassline the song really comes into its own and the final chorus after a burst of tempo in the song is rousing and a memorable way to start the album.

[8.5/10]

[Track 2 - Fuck Forever]

Again the untreated and messy guitar opening reminiscent of the first track, although the bass is less apparent here and this possibly leads the tune of the song to be a little less organised. However, the lyrics of this song may seem simple, they are inquisitive in nature and are sometimes sold a bit short due to the expletive in the song's title and key part of it's chorus. The song seems a little disorganised and devoid of structure, a trait often attributed to Babyshambles, but they prove that this is purely intentional and doesn't affect the song's character. Doherty leads this track with the power of his vocals although the track does descend into chaos towards the end. Pretty good but a few flaws that may bring the track down in some people's estimation.

[7.5/10]

[Track 3 - A'rebours]

The guitar is much softer and the drums, whilst quick are much more civil than the previous tracks. The lyrics here and vocal delivery are much more of what we expect from Doherty this time. The bassline is funky when it is given some time at the fore and the drums build the chorus to a pleasant crescendo. Pete also breaks the song in the middle with a little ballad-like bit of vocal harmony. Probably the most wide-reaching track so far although probably also the least distinguished so some positives and negatives here.

[7/10]

[Track 4 - The 32nd Of December]

The song has a brand of gritty but chart-friendly melody about it which helps Babyshambles diversify the album's appeal. Once again, a good bassline and professional guitaring back up Pete's mic performance and the chorus is a good one and the song incorporates a pinch of the band's ska influences. "32nd of december, thats the night I'm trying so hard to remember...' a soft chorus with evident personality.

[7/10]

[Track 5 - Pipedown]

The guitar begins the track alone, and there is an eerie backing of 'La La La.' Soon the jagged drum hits come in and isolated spells of bass make up the tune. Pete's lyrics are some of the best in this song although I'm not a massive fan of this song as a whole. It definitely has plenty of good points, but that's the risk of Babyshambles, some songs just don't sit right with you sometimes. The song is however, the shortest on the album and has enough positives to make it easy enough to find something to enjoy.

[6.5/10]

[Track 6 - Sticks and Stones]

There is solitary whistling of the song's main tune in the background of the opening quietness. A lone acoustic guitar shepherds the first couple of dulled lines from Doherty until the drums and bass pipe up and Pete picks up his energy levels. The songs underlying tempo is quite slow and the whistling continues in the background throughout much of it. The bass notes are isolated and dwelt upon and the vocals are sung with a passionate restraint. sudenly about 3 minutes in the pace picks up to a speedy tempo for a few seconds, drifts back into slowness and then gradually builds back up to a hectic pace and the drums reall begin to have an impact. A very good song.

[8/10]

[Track 7 - Killamangiro]

The drums pound into this song and the guitar moves around behind them. The lyrics are different and break down the track's title in the chorus. The bassline gives the track a pacey tempo throughout the verses and subsides for the harmonic and somewhat sing-a-long chorus. There are some nice, subtle instrumental touches and background melodies that liven up the song and the track is quite a mash-up f genres but succeeds in doing this well.

[7.5/10]

[Track 8 - 8 Dead Boys]

The song starts bizarrely with Pete singing "8 Dead Boys sittin' on a wall..." to the tune of '10 Green Bottles.' This is quickly interupted by a solitary guitar strum and the familair tinny guitar begins to open up the track. The song's tune becomes evident soon after an the lyrics fit nicely into the instrumental support. The drums dominate the songs tempo and are consistent throughout. The chorus sounds good, if a little loosely disciplined and the guitar is allowed to experiment at times. The song changes into a bassy break which gradually builds up the song's energy/noise levels with increasingly quick drumming which at times subsides to allow more focus on the songs key lyrics. Pretty good, but not one of the best so far.

[6/10]

[Track 9 - In Love With A Feeling]

One of the most heartfelt songs on the album, a reserved pace to the song and quite meek in comparison to the attitude of many of the other tracks. Almost acoustic in nature, Doherty dominates the track and his vocals appear to be the main focus. It's difficult to describe the track without selling it short, but one of my favourites nonetheless.

[8/10]

[Track 10 - Pentonville]

A bizarre track in all honesty, written whilst Doherty was spending some time incarcerated at HMP Pentonville. There is a carribean vocalist on the track and Doherty doesn't actually feature until right near the end and only in the background. The song touches on a few areas of prison life and prison in general. If you hear the sing, it's plain to see the distinction between this and the rest of the album. The song feels almost out of place and breaks the albums flow slightly. Although the band must be commended for taking the risk and trying something different, it doesn't quite come off.

[4.5/10]

[Track 11 - What Katy Did Next]

A follow on from 'The Libertins' track 'What Katy Did' although no 'shoop-shoops' here at all. A slightly less upbeat melody to the original, sinister in places, jovial in others. The guitar chords are infrequent and the drums are timid natured. Once again, Doherty is given the spotlight although this song doesn't quite have the same charm as The Libs similarly named epic.

[5.5/10]

[Track 12 - Albion]

The second longest track on the album, which is due to the whole minute of near silence at the start of the track. Halfway through this minute, the ilence lifts and a sort of distorted, high frequency feedback and strange banging begin, causing confusion all around until and really pleasant and unexpected acoustic guitar melody strikes up. This is actually th album's most relaxed track. Acoustic right through, co-operatively mellow behaviour from the other instrumentalists and some of Doherty's best lyrics on the album. A quirky song with a really pleasing air about it, the instruments are much more in harmony in unison and after the song's initial antics, a very impressive track.

[9/10]

[Track 13 - Back From The Dead]

The bassline dominates the opening of the song and stands out throughout it. the drums are pretty quick but don't resonate too much through the track. The bass is the key to the track's rhythm. Doherty sings brilliantly on the track and the 'shoop shoops' are found on this track. (For any Libs fans.) This is one of my favourite tracks on the album also and is getting a very good rating from me...

[9.5/10]

[Track 14 - Loyalty Song]

This track has a lot to live up to following the previous two which may be the reason why it tends to struggle to impress me. The guitar floats through the tracks and the vocals change tact throughtout he song which does manage to keep it fresh. There is also occasional inputfrom a harmonica and possibly tubuar bells or a triangle, I'm not sure which. Not a bad track, done down by the quality in the preceeding songs.

[5.5/10]

[Track 15 - Up The Morning]

The longest track on the album, with another long uneventful intro. Some may like this technique as it gives a 'calm before the storm' effect. A lethargic acoustic guitar fades in and the song gradually builds in energy during the first couple of minutes although this energy subsides for Doherty's verses and he sings witha very broken, withdrawn delivery. The songs is placid in most parts although it does tend to build to a short burst of crashing pace on fairly rare occasions. This does tend to get a bit worn towards the end of the track although the track will pobably be suited to specific environments. Hit and miss really.

[5/10]

[Track 16 - Merry Go Round]

Sticking with the acoustic option here, Doherty's calming vocals adorn yet another track. A very tame track , welcome if your starting to fall asleep. Not exactly party material but the track creates quite a poignant, relaxed atmosphere with its solitary guitar strumming. The track carries on the albums trend of mellowing itself in the later tracks and this track should be enjoyed by any fan of Doherty although it's not something I would tell my grandkids about in 50 years. (Presuming I can stand 50 more years on this rock.)

[6/10]

Overall

A decent debut for the band, not as good as The Libertines releases but just as good as the band's other frontman Carl Barat's band 'Dirty Pretty Things' first album.' Some really great tracks give the album some serious credentials in places, but it is slightly let down in consistency of its quality. The album is a very adventurous effort and starts in a very chaotic, yet soulful haze of instruments until it later settles into a relaxed pro-acoustic mindset and manages to put together some strong individual songs. Doherty brings his own much-loved musical talents to the fore and proves that whatever people think of his personal life, it has not stunted his musical creativity. A good album which I will continue to listen to for some time I hope. 

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