Reforming once more, The Libertines could be on for their best work to date. After the promising tones of Night of the Hunter and the acceptable charm, if loose work on Run Run Run, it is all coming together for Pete Doherty and Carl Barât. An autumn run of shows, an album on the cards – everything points toward grand success for The Libertines. To suggest Shiver can put a stop to this is airheaded, especially when it sounds as musically in touch and aware of their talents as can be heard from the band so far on All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade and before. Dying soldiers, imagery sparked with ease from Doherty’s writings, this is The Libertines in the fine, post-return form which marked Anthems for the Doomed Youth as such an impressive feat.
Barât shines here, not in the forefront as this is reserved for Doherty but rummaging away in the background with some sharp and stylish guitar work. It is not a callback to the perceived glory days, it sounds as though The Libertines hope to keep the past exactly where it is, way back there. Though it may sound strong and has a nice sway to it, Shiver does not go anywhere. It holds firm and keeps a neat pace but fends off any chance or attempts to rise, dip or change from the already travelled path. It becomes a neat track but as a single choice makes little sense. The same pacing and repetition as Run Run Run, which suffered because of its rigid feel. Shiver manages to shake off a little of that by making its focus on instrumentals work overtime, but it does feel a little out of place for The Libertines.
Warped words for Britain and a love for the land which keeps greeting them as heroes, The Libertines turn their attention to widowed lovers and flowers in their hair but using it as a metaphor for watching the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II is where major cracks begin to show. Is this a lament to her life or a call for the loss to end the rest of the family? Either way, Doherty cannot mount enough of a substantial form in his writings – and it is a constant problem for his days in The Libertines. Aggrandizations of his poetry in motion are all well and good but his life on the lash exploitation from Run Run Run still lingers in the background.
Shiver is fine. It does the job and fits as a relatively plain single which leaves listeners with more questions than answers. Not in a foggy and mysterious attitude from the band but, as The Libertines often do, figure out the meaning of some meandering writing later down the line. The glass box of being in a foreign land when the face of your home country pops her clogs. Some felt stunned into silence and watched on at their Jamaican recording studio, others were attending film festivals at the time and slammed so many mimosas they fell asleep behind Tilda Swinton at a screening of The Quiet Daughter. We are not the same. Shiver is fine, it neither stokes nor soaks the fire of All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade.
