Loaded Album of the week

- By Fred Spanner

Pete Doherty:  Felt Better Alive  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The tranquil Libertine is high on life and baguettes.

Well, would you look at that? Pete Doherty’s only gone and made his most soulful, sharpest record yet. And he’s done it without setting himself on fire or waking up in a skip. The wild-eyed troubadour has swapped crack dens for countryside strolls, and it turns out, that’s exactly what the doctor ordered.

Doherty sounds, dare we say it... content? But not in a boring way. He’s still got that lyrical bite and razor-sharp wit, but it’s now laced with a reflective, bittersweet beauty.

We’ve always known he’s got the songwriting chops; he just used to think he needed a bit of chaos to sharpen them. Turns out all he really needed was a decent night’s sleep and a few baguettes. Life in rural Normandy, with its cows, calm, and croissants, has clearly done wonders.

What makes this album such a gem is that Doherty’s not deliberately trying to make a masterpiece. Just Pete, a guitar, and a good few years of baggage turned into brilliance. And seemingly effortless, as always. Brilliant!