The Libertines - Anthems for Doomed Youth
4/10
Get a large cup of coffee before you attempt to listen to Anthems For Doomed Youth; it’s a slow and sluggish album from the word go. First track Barbarians is not memorable in the slightest; a really dull start to an album which has so much hype (due to a nine year gap between officially released tracks, an explosive set at Hyde Park in 2014 and headline slot at this year’s Reading and Leeds festival). Recently released single Gunga Din provides some satisfaction, yet still doesn’t entirely grasp the raw edge shown on songs like Can’t Stand Me Now back in 2004. The Libertines seem to have lost the youthful spark that use to set them apart, and now they trail behind like drunken old men without any real strive or precision. With no real stand alone tracks apart from watery Iceman, Anthems For Doomed Youth should really be renamed Anthems For Our Doomed Selves as it just highlights that maybe The Libertines have become a bit of old hat nowadays. An almost self explanatory lyric in album namesake track Anthems For Doomed Youth, “we’re going nowhere” epitomises where this album also seems to end up.
4/10
