The Libertines – Anthems for Doomed Youth Review

Doomed indeed were The Libertines. Their debut record was shot into the music stratosphere by a feral and ready-for-it audience who tracked the movements of Pete Doherty like vultures hunting prey. When their self-titled follow-up was not up to scratch but peddled as adjacent to divine presence, the current-day shock against The Libertines is from the gloves remaining on, and the lack of fight in the second record. It was around then Doherty and Carl Barât called time on the band. But the duo had not been told to let sleeping dogs lie and gave it another crack at the forgotten third piece, Anthems for Doomed Youth. They were once those latter two words and are best suited to speak to the generation of forgotten-about urchins.  

Reunion records can go one of two ways. A sparkling triumph which settles fans of the band from years gone by and drafts in new listeners, or an experience which ties itself to the hopes of this core group being big enough to profit from. Anthems for Doomed Youth straddles both and tries its luck. Punchy opener Barbarians has some exceptional instrumentals though they do grate with how written for The Inbetweeners credits they sound. The Libertines hope to hold themselves up to Asian cultural exploration on the likes of Gunga Din and Fury of Chonburi. These feel more like excuses to mention places of influence than anything else. Forgettable Fame and Fortune is followed up by an all-time great from The Libertines, their title track Anthem for Doomed Youth is a real step up in quality. This is where Doherty and Barât should maintain themselves – and though it is just one piece, it is something to cling to. 

A shock turn of events leads The Libertines, three albums and two reunions in at this point, to a sound and style which benefits both members. Their first two records sounded fractured and independent of one another – Anthems for Doomed Youth, particularly You’re My Waterloo, gives the band a chance to lick their wounds while Belly of the Beast hears Doherty at his vocal best. A tinge of Damon Albarn after jumping the Blur ship renders itself in the likes of Fury of Chonburi, the rage against the self and slightly ill-defined momentum a nice touch. Here is where The Libertines find themselves and offer a record which strikes through as focused on the future but squares up parts of their controversial past. 

Without a doubt the best record The Libertines put out – though there are still patches of trouble. Wading through those as best they can, Doherty and Barât offer a considered and connected record. Its latter stages of sombre attentiveness are stellar touches, the flourishes on Glasgow Coma Scale Blues getting to the heart of what happened to their joyous hearts who set out to make a go of the music business. It chewed them up, spat them out and left them aimless and trying to piece it all together. The Libertines’ attempt at fixing themselves up and pushing forward regardless of who wants them to fail or succeed is admirable considering their rocky history – and Anthems for Doomed Youth brings a focus never held in previous efforts.