So who exactly is Wolfman again? And what exactly does he do on this record? Such is the enigmatic figure of a man cut by dear old Wolfie here. Although if you release a single featuring guitar, vocal and songwriting contributions from The Libertines' compadres in chaos Pete Doherty and Carl Barat, you could be dressed as Donald Duck and jumping up and down waving a Kalashnikov and no-one would notice.

"For Lovers", sung by Pete, is like The Kinks after one of Ray Davies' more traumatic breakdowns. Pete's fragile, wasted voice drifts in and out of the piano and strings, creating a mood of strangely gentle desperation that is both soothing and heartbreaking. Anyone with a passing knowledge of the last year or so in Messr Doherty's life will be able to draw all manner of poignant inferences from the lyrics but even for Pete virgins this is a powerful and stirring love song that crawls inside your heart and just sticks there.

The influence of The Kinks is still in evidence on "Back From The Dead", as is the guitar and voice of Carl Barat. A turn for the uptempo with the wry, dry, lyrical bite that will send Libertines fans into spasms of joy as their already feverish anticipation of the new album turns itself up yet another notch. A success on all levels.

For Lovers