There are some band reunions that make complete sense. Sleater-Kinney, for example, whose new album proves that they still have something vital to say and that they’re not just in it for the paycheck.
There are non-reunions that make just as much sense: witness the collective sigh that’s emitted every time Morrissey or Johnny Marr issues yet another denial about a Smiths reunion. It’s not because it wouldn’t be thrilling to hear those songs live again – but why bother tainting a near-perfect legacy?
The Libertines, on the other hand, seem to be caught in a bit of a symbolic no man’s land when it comes to reuniting.
Having split in 2004, they reformed in 2010 for some festival dates and again last year for a show at Hyde Park in London (pictured below left). Now, they’ve signed a deal with Virgin EMI to record a new album that will be out later this year. They’ve even booked a date at the 3Arena for July.
This seems wildly ambitious. Although they clearly mean a lot to many NME readers – both their 2002 debut Up the Bracket and 2004's The Libertines captured a very particular brand of disaffected indie-rock for a generation – it's all too easy to be cynical about their reasons for reforming.
Neither Pete Doherty nor Carl Barat’s solo careers have set the world alight, although the former has had markedly more success with Babyshambles.
Doherty, incidentally, was recently in rehab in Thailand for his persistent drug addiction, and seeing his bandmates fly out to join him before Christmas for a deal-signing photo-op seemed more sad than anything else.
Can we take this reunion at face value, or are we right to be sceptical? Have the fractures been properly mended? We’ll reserve judgment when we hear the album, but there’s no denying the distinct whiff of desperation from this one.
