Anthems for Doomed Youth

This article is about the Libertines album. For the High Dials album, see Anthems for Doomed Youth (The High Dials album).

Anthems for Doomed Youth is the third studio album by English garage rock band The Libertines, released on 11 September 2015.^[2] The album contains two notable literary references: the tracks "Anthem for Doomed Youth" and "Gunga Din" reference poems of the same titles by Wilfred Owen and Rudyard Kipling, respectively. "Gunga Din" was released as the album's first single on 2 July 2015.^[3] The album's second single, "Glasgow Coma Scale Blues", was released on 20 August 2015.^[4] The success of the album produced multiple European tours from 2015-2019.

Anthems for Doomed Youth
Studio album by The Libertines
Released	11 September 2015
Recorded	Karma Sounds Studios, Thailand[1]
Genre	Garage rock, indie rock
Length	45:45
Label	Virgin EMI (UK) Harvest (US)
Producer	Jake Gosling
The Libertines chronology
Time for Heroes – The Best of The Libertines (2007) Anthems for Doomed Youth (2015) All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade (2024)
Singles from Anthems for Doomed Youth
"Gunga Din" Released: 2 July 2015 "Glasgow Coma Scale Blues" Released: 20 August 2015 "Heart of the Matter" Released: 22 October 2015

Release

The album was released in 3 formats: Digital, CD, and Vinyl. There is also a Deluxe Edition, released on CD and Digitally, including extra tracks. A box set, including a Deluxe CD, a Vinyl copy, exclusive film, and signed art prints, was also released.^[2] To celebrate the release of the new LP 'a week of shenanigans' was announced, mainly taking place at Camden's Dublin Castle venue. The run of events was titled 'Somewhere Over the Railings'.^[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	6.7/10[6]
Metacritic	70/100[7]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]
The Guardian	[9]
The Independent	[10]
Mojo	[11]
NME	7/10[12]
Pitchfork	7.7/10[13]
Q	[14]
Rolling Stone	[15]
Spin	6/10[16]
Uncut	8/10[17]

Reviews for the album were generally positive, earning a rating of 70 out of 100 on Metacritic, indicating generally favourable reviews.^[7] Charles Pitter at PopMatters declared the album "an enjoyable overload of charisma".^[18]

Alexis Petridis of The Guardian wrote, "The first new album from the reformed Libertines is better than anyone could have possibly dreamed. It may be a new beginning or a complete finish, but it's a vast improvement over how the Libertines' narrative appeared doomed to end".^[19]

Accolades

Publication	Accolade	Year	Rank
NME	NME's Albums of the Year 2015	2015	29[20]

Track listing

All tracks written by Doherty and Barât.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Barbarians"	3:35
2.	"Gunga Din"	2:58
3.	"Fame and Fortune"	3:07
4.	"Anthem for Doomed Youth"	4:26
5.	"You're My Waterloo"	4:19
6.	"Belly of the Beast"	4:06
7.	"Iceman"	4:58
8.	"Heart of the Matter"	3:29
9.	"Fury of Chonburi"	2:40
10.	"The Milkman's Horse"	3:23
11.	"Glasgow Coma Scale Blues"	3:12
12.	"Dead for Love"	5:14

Deluxe Edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
13.	"Love on the Dole"	3:13
14.	"Bucket Shop"	3:03
15.	"Lust of the Libertines"	4:01
16.	"7 Deadly Sins"	3:04
17.	"Over It Again" (Japan bonus track)	2:18

Charts

Chart (2015)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[21]	55
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[22]	9
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[23]	16
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[24]	18
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[25]	28
French Albums (SNEP)[26]	22
Irish Albums (IRMA)[27]	10
Italian Albums (FIMI)[28]	57
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[29]	13
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[30]	11
UK Albums (OCC)[31]	3
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[32]	1

References

1. "The Libertines Interview: Pete Doherty And Carl Barat on Thailand And Their Monster of a Comeback Album". NME. 16 June 2015.
2. "Anthems for Doomed Youth - Album - Videos - Tour - Store". thelibertines.com. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015.
3. The Libertines Explore Thailand's Red Light District in "Gunga Din" Video, Pitchfork Media, 2 July 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
4. The Libertines Share New Song "Glasgow Coma Scale Blues", Pitchfork Media, 20 August 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
5. "The Libertines announce 'week of shenanigans' at small Camden venue to mark new album release". NME.
6. "Anthems For Doomed Youth by The Libertines reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
7. "Reviews for Anthems for Doomed Youth by The Libertines". Metacritic. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
8. Phares, Heather. "Anthems for Doomed Youth – The Libertines". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
9. Petridis, Alexis (10 September 2015). "The Libertines: Anthems for Doomed Youth – a reputation restored". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
10. Harley, Kevin (29 August 2015). "The Libertines, Anthems For Doomed Youth – Album review". The Independent. Archived from the original on 31 August 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
11. Gilbert, Pat (31 August 2015). "The Libertines – Anthems For Doomed Youth". Mojo. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
12. Daly, Rhian (3 September 2015). "The Libertines – 'Anthems For Doomed Youth'". NME. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
13. Snapes, Laura (7 September 2015). "The Libertines: Anthems for Doomed Youth". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
14. "The Libertines: Anthems for Doomed Youth". Q (351): 112. October 2015.
15. Dolan, Jon (4 September 2015). "Anthems for Doomed Youth". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
16. Soto, Alfred (15 September 2015). "Review: The Libertines Claw Their Way to Adulthood on 'Anthems for Doomed Youth'". Spin. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
17. Martin, Gavin (October 2015). "The Libertines: Anthems for Doomed Youth". Uncut (221): 78.
18. Pitter, Charles (30 September 2015). "The Libertines: Anthems for Doomed Youth, PopMatters". PopMatters.
19. Petridis, Alexis (10 September 2015). "The Libertines: Anthems for Doomed Youth – a reputation restored". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
20. "NME's Albums of the Year 2015". NME. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
21. Ryan, Gavin (19 September 2015). "ARIA Albums: Bring Me the Horizon 'That's the Spirit' Debuts at One in Australia". Noise11. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
22. "Ö3 Austria Top40: Longplay-Charts - Ö3 Charts". oe3.orf.at. 8 November 2019.
23. "Ultratop.be – The Libertines – Anthems for Doomed Youth" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
24. "Ultratop.be – The Libertines – Anthems for Doomed Youth" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
25. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Libertines – Anthems for Doomed Youth" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
26. "Lescharts.com – The Libertines – Anthems for Doomed Youth". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
27. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 38, 2015". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
28. "Italiancharts.com – The Libertines – Anthems for Doomed Youth". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
29. "Swedishcharts.com – The Libertines – Anthems for Doomed Youth". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
30. "Swisscharts.com – The Libertines – Anthems for Doomed Youth". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
31. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
32. "The Libertines Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 September 2015.