Pete Doherty shares serene new single ‘Calvados’ and announces intimate UK in-store shows

nme.com:

Pete Doherty has dropped a new song called ‘Calvados’ and announced a run of initiate in-store shows across the UK. Find out more below.Shared today (February 26), the new single marks the latest preview of the singer-songwriter’s upcoming solo album ‘Felt Better Alive’.

It follows on from the soul-bearing title track, which was released as the lead single.With ‘Calvados’, Doherty takes a closer look at the world around him, taking inspiration from the natural world and produce in Normandy, where he lives.It is described as a “hymn to craftsmanship and patience”, and sees the Libertines frontman lean into a tranquil, uplifting sound and providing a portrait of a farmer’s life in the lyrics.“There’s an old cart horse with a wiry mane, Pulls a cart along a country lane/ Been rolling since before the break of day / tending the Orchard / stacking up the hay,” Doherty sings in the soft, acoustic intro. “The farmer sits holding the reins – guiding the cart through Normandy lanes/Slow and steady is the way/ The way it was, the way it is/ The way it will remain…”Speaking about the inspiration for the track, Doherty said: “Where I live there’s a fellow in town, he’s got a shop that specialises in Calvados and ciders; the apple juice becomes cider becomes Calvados.

He took me on a tour of all the old Calvados makers, in his van, place to place, staying with them. It’s that story.“The line ‘Slow and steady is the way!/The way it was, the way it is…’, that’s how it is.

These farms have been there for generations. You can’t hurry it, you wait for the apples to grow, you wait for the seasons to change, it’s not a laboratory.