Pete Doherty's gift for shambling but lovable tunes has survived numerous run–ins with needles and crack pipes, and his first solo album proves that gift can thrive in an acoustic setting. With Blur's Graham Coxon on guitar, the U.K. singer and former Libertine effuses a certain wastrel charm on tunes like the gently rocking "Last of the English Roses" and "Sheepskin Tearaway," a sketch of a chemical romance and one of Doherty's prettiest songs ever. Doherty, who now prefers Peter, doesn't quite have a full batch of tunes here — the weird, World War II–themed "1939 Returning" is one of a few songs that could use an actual chorus — but for much of the album he manages to make his dysfunction sing.