Although we primarily know Pete Doherty as a junkie who breaks up with Kate Moss every few months, Pete occasionally sings in an amazing band: Babyshambles. Pete’s legal problems, personal problems, and substance-abuse problems can’t slow his musical ambitions; according to reports, Babyshambles scheduled the first single from their un-named second disc to hit stores December 16th.

The new disc, produced Stephen Street, apparently contains some of the band’s best work to date, perhaps out-shining the critically-acclaimed disc Down In Albion. Allan Jones, editor of Uncut, was one of the first lucky ones to preview the disc, and he seemed impressed with what he heard.

Fans on various Babyshambles forums have been bracing themselves for something approaching the worse here - worried not so much about he album’s contents because they are already familiar with the bulk of the songs, but how those songs would sound, rendered by Stephen Street, concerns as I say I largely shared.

As it happens, all parties can relax. I’ve been playing the album all weekend, and it sounds great.

More on the new Babyshambles album, and this week’s free MP3, after the jump.

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