Most of the time, he's not up to task, as on "1939 Returning", which details the plight of a World War II soldier turned dissident without paying much attention to writing hooks. Though "A Little Death Around the Eyes" has a slinky seductiveness, it's saddled with lyrics that are pure placeholder- "Your boyfriend's name was Dave/ I was bold and brave/ And now you're mine." Other times, the influence of Coxon manifests in a tendency to stuff as many chord changes into a verse regardless of whether Doherty can think up a decent melody to lay on top of it.
Either way, it's hard to tell what's been written in a week and which ones come with a ratpack stench. It's a new beginning and a definitive closing as some of Grace is taken from songs that have aged more than five years. None of which excuses the main problem with Grace/Wastelands- an absence of memorable songs. As Doherty's voice continues to take on a sort of empathetic piteousness, this sort of unkempt sonic rendering adds a humanizing touch. Imagining an alternate reality where "Radio America" was the jumping off point for the rest of his career, Grace is a record that splits the difference between its collaborators: Though largely acoustic and peppered with plenty UK signifiers of string pads, light drums, horns, and shuffle/skiffle tempos, its production resembles that of any Coxon solo record, closely mic'd to the point where everything sounds smudged.
So no surprise that Doherty's sobriety (his game is grown, prefer you call him "Peter") is the biggest selling point for Grace/Wasteland as opposed to its long-time-coming partnerships with Blur guitarist Graham Coxon and famed producer Stephen Street (the Smiths, Blur).
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