Astralwerks
2007
Shoffers Nation
About This Album
Pete Doherty did his best to deglamorize the myth of the poetic, glamorously wasted rock star with boringly bad behavior -- and, even worse, boring music. Babyshambles' debut, Down in Albion, was mostly a mess with a few moments of stranded brilliance, while The Blinding was a little more focused, but still lackluster. At this point, the only really shocking thing Doherty and the rest of Babyshambles could do would be to release some consistently good music. Darned if they didn't with Shotter's Nation, an album that shows that Babyshambles have learned from their stumbling baby steps. It doesn't outstay its welcome, as there are no detours into pointless reggae, and best of all, the band sounds like it's having fun -- much more fun, in fact, than when Doherty and crew sounded like they were three sheets to the wind while making Down in Albion. Doherty sounds more mischievous than self-destructive on these songs, and he's infinitely more appealing as a cheeky, brazen storyteller than a despondent junkie. "Baddie's Boogie," a sunny, strummy tale of a crumbling marriage, is one of his most sharply written and sung songs since his Libertines days; on "Deft Left Hand," he rattles off bon mots like "Went from cheery vagabondage to cold-blooded luxury in four years" effortlessly.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4,6 and 8)

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