Peter Doherty – Grace/Wastelands (2009)
Love him or hate him, Peter Doherty is possessed of the most singular vision in England. Infuriatingly inconsistent and dogged by problems that on the evidence of the last Babyshambles album had all but leached the muse dry, Doherty has the potential to inherit the ‘greatest living englishman’ mantle worn for the last four decades by Ray Davies of the Kinks.
The album itself is excellent – sympathetic production from Stephen Street allows the songs to breathe – and these songs are uniformly splendid. My vote for album of the year so far. Forget the tabloid headlines, Peter Doherty is back and in some style.
