Babyshambles - Albion
[Rough Trade]

It is easy to get lost inside of Albion. For this very reason the more cruel lyrical elements are easily passed by without a second thought. What is particularly lovely about Babyshambles as a band however is the vocal freedom received from previous detachments. Peter sings to his own song of both far away lands "Bristol/ Anywhere" and Battersea (much to the delight of the Wandsworth Borough News, again).

Lyrics like "Gin in teacups and leaves on the lawn" evoke a lovely sense of imagery that is certainly not intended to be tainted by the filthy touch of reality. In reality the song seems to reflect what might be conceived as the inner workings of Peter's brain cells. This very aura is exactly what keeps Peter's songs quite so beautiful; they are untouchable.

Nick Hornby proclaims somewhere along the lines of his '30 Songs' that a good song is one that you can never quite figure out. Through its ever enigmatic lyrics, and distanced strumming, Albion answers well to Hornby's challenge in many respects.