Though I've never actively sought any details out, I feel as if I've learned quite a bit about the life and times of Pete Doherty in the last few years. He's always getting his cat wasted or spraying blood on somebody or humping a trashcan or something. He persists as a somewhat beloved figure in British popular music, but I realize that I haven't heard a song the man's written since maybe 2003? So today, on the release of our man's new Shotter's Nation LP, I decided to block all of the tabloid exploits from my mind and give that album's lead single a fair go.
Boy, is it lazy.
Turns out Pete's still cribbing from the Kinks songbook (as he was back in his Libertine days), but he's gotten more brazen and less adept at it. "Delivery" is built from a barely altered version of the immortal riff from "All Day & All of the Night," which any classic rock radio listener could easily identify. His band adds a bit of acoustic balance, and Pete drunken crams in as many self loathing lyrics he can over the top. There are fleeting bits of appealing melody, and those Davies brothers sure knew what they were doing, but even at under three minutes it's a total bore. The whole thing is so half-assed and devoid of sincere song-writing effort that I'll probably never knowingly lend ol' Pistol Pete my time and patience again.