One, two. One, two. One, two, three, four! Winding guitar, quasi-meaningful vocals (it's probably the accent), root note on the bass, root note. Drum break!!! Two, three, four. Repeat, this time with tambourine! It's rock by numbers for the Libertines' Pete Doherty and the rest of Babyshambles with their 2007 release _Shotter's Nation.
Take everything you know about the Kinks, Wire and Big Star, throw it in a blender and flip it up to 11 (yes, this one goes to 11). Babyshambles is the 2000s answer to the British invasion of the 1960s.
Instead of cashing in on the revival of Joy Division and Gang of Four inspired post-punk like their cohorts Interpol, Bloc Party, Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand, this UK centered group has forgone any gimmicks or trends for straight, unpretentious rock.
The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Zombies, the Who, the Kinks - none of these groups needed angular guitar, odd structure and eye shadow. Granted, _Shotter's Nation is no _Revolver_ but shines in its own simplicity.
The fact that it has already been done, and better, doesn't make the record any less enjoyable. In the world of doom and gloom emo, throwaway pop and speaker rattling rap, what Babyshambles have produced here is different.
Shotter's Nation begins with distorted guitar picking that slowly winds its way around and down into a driving drumbeat. The vocals pick up on the guitar and the first track cruises along unceremoniously. Don't be fooled, the mediocre start is traded in during the rest of the album for whatever might be between mundane adequacy and earth shattering awesomeness.
Propulsive drums coupled with the appropriate use of a cowbell on You Talk"" will make the listener want to grab a Fender, throw down some power chords and recite the chorus of ""You Really Got Me"" at unnecessarily high volumes. The rest of the album strictly mirrors this throwback mentality, especially ""Side of the Road,"" ""Deft Left Hand"" and ""Baddie's Boogie."" Even when the quartet tone things down a bit with ""There She Goes"" and ""Lost Art of Murder,"" the result is both highly derivative and superbly delicious.
In fact, it would not be too difficult to pair every song on _Shotter's Nation to some well known '60s British counterpart, but at least they picked a collective bunch of well respected musicians to mimic. It could've been worse. They could've ripped off 4 Non Blondes and Adam Ant.
So while it may be paint-by-numbers rock, Babyshambles' use the bright, eye-catching colors of their forbears. They are the new _Village Green Preservation Society_, protecting the old ways from being abused.
