All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade

by The Libertines

Overview

The Libertines' 2015 comeback album Anthems for Doomed Youth seemed like it might be a one-off, but nine years later, All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade proves they're as dedicated to making new music as they are to touring. Like Anthems, their fourth album is considerably cleaner and sometimes safer-sounding than the raffish Up the Bracket and The Libertines, although the band uses this polish skillfully on "Night of the Hunter," a vignette of antihero glamor that's equal parts spaghetti western, film noir, and Swan Lake. There's also a little more fire in the performances this time around, especially on the Clash-y punk of "Oh Shit" and on "Run Run Run," the entertainingly self-aware echo of their glory days that kicks off the album. Carl Barât, Peter Doherty, and company spend as much time riffing on their status as rock & roll survivors on Esplanade as they did mythologizing their elegantly wasted twenties two decades prior, but Doherty's fascination with mortality takes on a more philosophical patina with "Songs They Never Play on the Radio"'s wry midlife angst. A mature perspective can still be rebellious -- as the years go by, the list of things to protest grows longer -- and All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade is frequently most engaging when the band reflects on the changing world around them. "Merry Old England," a cutting portrait of the attitudes that greet refugees and immigrants, is one of the album's highlights, as is "Shiver"'s driving look at the irrelevance of traditions. ~ Heather Phares

Product Details

Release Date:	04/05/2024
Label:	Casablanca / Emi / Republic
UPC:	0602458358933

Tracks

1. Run Run Run
2. Mustangs
3. I Have a Friend
4. Merry Old England
5. Man With the Melody
6. Oh Shit
7. Night of the Hunter
8. Baron's Claw
9. Shiver
10. Be Young
11. Songs They Never Play on the Radio

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Libertines   Primary Artist
The Haggis Horns   Primary Artist
Malcolm Strachan   Trombone,Trumpet
John Cory Hassall   Bass,Drums,Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Omnichord,Vocals (Background)
Peter Doherty   Guitar,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Fiona Brice   Violin
Gary Powell   Drums,Vocals,Percussion,Vocals (Background)
Pascale Masson   Vocals (Background)
Atholl Ransome   Sax (Tenor)
Liam Brolly   Viola
Claude Samuel Levine   Theremin
Julie Gay   Vocals (Background)
Dimitri Tikovoi   Organ,Piano,Timpani,Keyboards,Wurlitzer,Percussion,Vocals (Background)
Carl Barat   Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Richie Kennedy   Percussion,Handclapping,Vocals (Background)
Alice Allen   Cello
Katrina Lee   Violin

Technical Credits

Fiona Brice   String Arrangements
Gary Powell   String Arrangements
Matt Colton   Mastering
The Haggis Horns   Brass Arrangement
Ben Barker   Engineer
Charles Hicks   Mixing Assistant
Eliaz Le Floch   Assistant Engineer
Matthew Boyle   String Engineer
Dimitri Tikovoi   Producer
Dan Grech-Marguerat   Mixing,Programming
Richie Kennedy   Engineer,Programming
Edward Cooke   Images
Haris Nukem   Photography
Luke Burgoyne   Mixing Assistant
Jason Stafford   Engineer,Assistant Engineer