Pete Doherty - Grace/Wastelands

Rating:

* * *

Whether you like this record or not will depend entirely on whether you liked Pete Doherty's previous work with The Libertines and Babyshambles. His debut solo album reveals nothing new in terms of style, timbre or tempo.

But what will surprise fans is just how coherent the record is. As if the past four years of drug abuse, criminal charges and broken relationships had never occurred.

The lyrics still have Doherty's trademark wandering patter, but they are audible and, for the most part, relatively sensible. At one point - on the time-travelling poem

1939 Returning

- they are downright brilliant.

It may be harsh to expect the worst from Doherty but given his track record it's not unreasonable. Which is why the soothing, dulcet tones of

Sheepskin Tearaway

and

Lady Don't Fall Backwards

are even more pleasing than they might have been from any other artist.

Low-key and restrained, the record is marked with bursts of passion - often led by former Blur guitarist Graham Coxon, who accompanies Doherty throughout the record and, one suspects, is the reason the project ever reached completion.

The charming swing of

Sweet By and By

- which could have come straight from a 1930s smoke-filled parlour - reminds you just what Doherty is capable of, and why his drug-fuelled demise is a genuine tragedy.

But the rest of the record struggles to be anything more than a pleasant surprise.

Joanna Hunkin