Pete Doherty, "Broken Love Song"

Quite possibly the best new song I've heard in 2009 so far has been "Broken Love Song," a self-descriptive tune from troubled rocker Pete Doherty, who is known in the States only as the drug-addled, off-again, on-again boyfriend of Kate Moss. His previous bands the Libertines and Babyshambles did nothing on the U.S. charts despite being highly revered in the U.K. (and despite being not-half-bad efforts, Babyshambles' "Delivery" in particular being a grand post-Kinks rave-up).

But Doherty's new solo album, Grace/Wasteland (sucky title, sorry) is a consistent winner and deserves to score on these shores. It's even more Ray Davies-infused than his previous efforts, betraying a thoughtfulness that it's easy to forget he has. The severely drug-addicted are often deprived by outsiders of their humanity and their feelings - which is a sad and somewhat ironic thing since for so many, drug abuse stems precisely from an inability or unwillingness to cope with one's humanity, one's feelings. I hope he finds a road to redemption. And as Myspace is streaming the entire Grace/Wasteland album at present, I hope you'll check some of it out - or at least "Broken Love Song," a jagged cry of life in a cell.

PS: That aesthetically stunning video was actually produced for a Babyshambles song, "French Dog Blues," hence the mis-synched vocals and instruments in its repurposing. But I'm thinking those aesthetics and illustrations really suit the new song much better.