It’s very difficult to keep track of the goings-on with Babyshambles, amongst all the cancelled gigs, rehab stints, label changes and rumours. With another UK tour scheduled (if they actually play all 10 confirmed dates it’ll be a shocker) comes the release of The Blinding EP. The press release claims it features “all new Babyshambles compositions”, but at least two of these tracks have been knocking around for quite some time, albeit as unofficial MP3s uploaded online by the chief ‘Shambler.

Opener ‘The Blinding’ kicks things off with a riff reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Crosstown Traffic’, i.e. it’s rather catchy. It’s easy to read the usual myriad of possible meanings from the lyrics – drugs/musical career/relationship fears/prison: ’What will you do/If they run out of time for you?’.

In any case this is one of the best Babyshambles songs I’ve heard for a long while, and bodes well for the rest of the EP.

‘Love You But You’re Green’ is a song I first heard quite a long time ago. With a slower pace, acoustic and Hawai’ian guitars, it once again tackles the poet’s favourite topic, love, though for what exactly is an elusive matter. This is a very strong track that has stood the test of time, no doubt why it’s finally been included here to bolster the standard of this release.

The Madness/Specials style ska of ‘I Wish’, while bounding along like a Labrador unleashed, contains the downbeat lines, ‘I’m piping almost every night/watch my dreams float by, out of sight/I wish to god I’d just been stabbed/’, suggesting a recognition of his situation and the difficulties that lie ahead. At least, that’s what fans might hope.

‘Beg, Steal or Borrow’ is a pretty standard sub-Libertines track that again sounds rather familiar… could it be that this one’s been knocking around for a while as well?

Closer ‘Sedative’ (pronounced “Sedateeeve”) has a maudlin feel at first, but the uplifting chorus suggests a rosier outlook for the future: ‘It’s been a long long time/Since I stepped outside/To the morning sun’.

Though patchy, this EP demonstrates Doherty’s considerable songwriting talents. It feels as if this EP is a last chance to hold onto old fans who have had enough, and even gain some doubters. Let’s hope he can maintain his apparent improved constitution, rather than wave goodbye to it for good.

(3/5)