Baby Shambles – Shotter’s Nation – Review

babyshambles200Baby Shambles

Shotter’s Nation (Astralwerks)
By Ewan Wadharmi

Before Pete Doherty became a tabloid celebrity, he had an oft forgotten career as a musician. And where last year’s Down In Albion gave a medicine-headed snapshot of the singer’s opiate use, Shotter’s Nation has a clarity and energy that the former lacked. Doherty is adept at spinning tales like “Deft Left Hand” with a deft tongue and spry wit. The production has improved along with the cohesiveness, having no ska numbers. The self-recrimination works nicely in “Crumb Begging Baghead” and “Unstookie Untitled” which plays like an open letter to the editor, or at least a come on to the tabloids. Nods to ’60s British invasion and Motown girl groups are welcoming and familiar, but far from the frenetic work of The Libertines. The title refers to 18th century poet Thomas Chatterton, inferring that Doherty is a genius unappreciated in his time, rather than a guy who squandered the chances given him.
(www.babyshambles.net)