There is an unfamiliar clarity and punch to guttersnipe guitar outfit the Libertines on their late-life return, thanks in part to producer Jake Gosling (Ed Sheeran, One Direction), tasked with taking this most scurvyish foursome upmarket. Even with Pete Doherty clean, and their songcraft to the fore, Anthems for Doomed Youth has the unmistakable tang of opportunity squandered. A decade ago, when the Libertines imploded in acrimony and addiction, songs such as You’re My Waterloo (“You never fumigate the demons, no matter how much you smoke”) or the Arctic Monkeys soundalike Heart of the Matter might have sealed the Libertines’ reputation as a classic British act rather than a class A-team horror show. Their recent headline set at Reading confirmed the Libertines revival is underway, but these Anthems are too little, too late.
