The Libertines have confirmed they have been working on new music. The band shared that they have been setting down tracks in the Caribbean over the summer for their upcoming album.
Pete Doherty told media (per Music-News) at the AIM Independent Music Awards 2022 yesterday (Wednesday, September 28), that he and co-frontman Carl Barât had been in Jamaica and having a “productive” summer working on new material for the band’s fourth studio album. “We’ve got a new album on the way,” Doherty said. “It’s been quite productive. Just trying to write some new songs.”
Backstage at Glastonbury Festival in June, Doherty told NME his hopes of releasing album number four by the end of this year. As they stepped off the stage from their performance, Doherty elaborated on his previous explanation of the record’s “eclectic mix of styles”, saying: “There are lots of things on the table – some really good, strong and melodic rock’n’roll songs.”
Asked when the album might be complete, he replied: “By the end of the year, I think – hopefully. We’ll get the demos done in the summer hopefully, and then we’ll see.”
Drummer Gary Powell then told NME in August his focus was on “forging forward” with the band’s fourth album. “The good thing is everybody’s been writing,” Powell said. “Obviously, we’re not going to try and reinvent the wheel… but I think we can push the boat out a little more while still bringing something that has the same emotional integrity and dynamism that the audience craves when they come to a Libertines show.”
The Libertines’ last album came by way of 2015’s ‘Anthems For Doomed Youth’, and was called by former NME journalist Matt Wilkinson at the time “the most rounded album The Libertines have ever made”.
Back in July, The Libertines celebrated the 20th anniversary of their debut album, ‘Up The Bracket’, with a one-night show at Wembley Arena, where they performed the album in full. They chose two of their favourite bands from peak 2002 popularity to join them in support, The Cribs and The Paddingtons.
October will see the release of a Super Deluxe Edition of ‘Up The Bracket’ – available to pre-order here. The new edition includes 65 previously unreleased recordings with original demos, radio sessions and live recordings. A 60-page book with a foreword by Wilkinson, new interviews with the band by Anthony Thornton, and unseen photos and memorabilia will also be released.