Our absolute favourite troubadour poet debauchees have made a grand return with their catchiest, most immediate single to date. Lead by co-frontman Carl Barat and peppered with background yells from other co-frontman Peter Doherty, ‘Run Run Run’ sees The Libertines achieve what they’ve only managed twice before in their two decade history – a straightforward radio smash (the other tracks being ‘Don’t Look Back Into The Sun’ and ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’, obviously).
Surreptitiously appropriating a Velvet Underground song title, the rascally foursome sing their way through a succinct candid assessment of their current standing – “It’s a life long project of a life on the lash, I’ve forgotten how to care but I’ll remember for cash”, the trademark chiming skiffle punk guitars and stop-start drumming acknowledging their intention of outpacing their past bloody rock’n’roll soap opera turmoil and making a right old arcadian knees up out of the present – “You’d better run, run, run, boy, faster than the past, through the looking glass, if you want the night to last”.
‘Run, Run Run’ is the first single to be taken from The Libertines first album release in nine years – ‘All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade’, due out on 8th March 2024. The track listing is below:
1 – Run, Run, Run
2 – Mustang
3 – Have A Friend
4 – Merry Old England
5 – Man With The Melody
6 – Oh Shit
7 – Night Of The Hunter
8 – Baron’s Claw
9 – Shiver
10 – Be Young
11 – Songs They Never Play On The Radio
The record can be pre-ordered now in various dazzling bundles of coloured vinyl, CDs, cassettes, t-shirts and lyric prints. And if you were to literally buy it tonight, you’ll get pre-sale access to a weekend of Libertines live shows in Margate on 9th and 10th December (pre-sale going live on Wednesday 18th October 2023).
There’s a video for the track coming soon, but it’s not out yet. For now, we’ve included a Spotify link so you can take a listen below: