Peter Doherty Hamburg Demonstrations

Just as you already know exactly what Noel Gallagher’s new album will sound like, regardless of year or what member of The Coral it will feature, you’ve probably got a very accurate idea of ‘Hamburg Demonstrations’ – another Peter Doherty rag-tag record of Knees Up Mother Brown, head-in-the-clouds vocals made up of round vowels, audibly sung with tragically innocent, massive eyes, and references to Brighton Rock (literally on ‘Kolly Kibber’) and other tomes of a dusty Britain.

It’s not necessarily a bad thing, as Peter’s less-than-prolific output (he sat out of writing the songs on the last Babyshambles record) means that his voice alone has become wholly nostalgic for a certain generation.

The other side of that double-edged sword has led to one track being included twice (‘I Don’t Love Anyone (But You’re Not Anyone)’ – decent, but not two times decent), as well as a reworking of an Amy Winehouse collaboration, ‘Flags From The Old Regime’.

After six months in a Hamburg recording studio you’d have thought that 11 original songs wouldn’t have been an unreasonable ask, while it’s impossible to tell if ‘Hell to Pay at the Gates of Heaven’ – written after the 2015 Paris attacks – is incredibly insensitive in tone, or the very sardonic bomb that could bring down ISIS by its second jaunty chorus.

Still with glimmers of melodic genius and daft romance, I still believe in Peter Doherty, I just wish he would a little bit more, too.