Pete Doherty might look like a Dickensian poorhouse pauper, but his rich musical gift has not deserted him. Babyshambles' new song _Delivery_ is a blissful garage-pop record. "Just as everyone expected, right?":http://mog.com/FluxCapacitor/blog_post/82329 Okay, maybe not. By all accounts Doherty's everyday persona is flaky, but here he's a forceful and direct spirit, having grafted a cracking melody to touchingly personal, even romantic lyrics. Uber-producer Steven Street deserves credit, if not a medal. He no doubt encouraged Doherty to wrap the whole shebang in excitingly choppy guitar riffery. Doherty's penchant for slow motion reggae work-outs has been outlawed. The ex-Libertine is as contrary as ever, of course. He's built the song around the Kinks' _All Day and All Of The Night_ yet uses a verse to issue a warning to young punks who "make pretend it's 1969 forever." Still, Doherty takes care to kick his own ass, mixing the self-examination with dexterous imagery, "What use am I to anyone?/Frozen, forlorn, beneath the sun".The triumphant chorus will have rival songwriter's kicking themselves. "Here comes the delivery/ straight from the heart of my misery". A punch the air mantra to rival the chorus of _Fuck Forever_. Some subtle wordplay later and he's changed the line to the hopeful, "this song might deliver me/from the harshness and misery". Being saved by music is an oft-repeated wish in Doherty's songs. It's made all the more affecting by his living a dangerous, dignity-corroding lifestyle. And the fact that thoughts of love are never far from his songwriting heart. When he changes the line for the third time, "the delivery" comes "from my heart to you." Now, I wonder who that's for? So, a song about the singer's existential pain, which tips its battered top hat to troubled youth, music, and a lover. Doherty's main themes are all present and correct, and strikingly presented. It bodes well for the first release from second album French Dog Blues, which drops in September.Please, Peter, can we have some more?..."Delivery (radio rip) on Hype Machine":http://hypem.com/artist/babyshambles
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