The Libertines share narrative-driven new single ‘Night of the Hunter’

Likely lads The Libertines have put out their latest offering ‘Night of the Hunter’, which follows ‘Run Run Run’ as another taste of what to expect from their forthcoming fourth LP ‘All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade’ (out on 8th March 2024 via EMI).

Speaking about the concept behind the new track, Pete Doherty has explained that “the song’s about not staying ahead of the law. This fella doesn’t really know why his mate’s dead, but he’s got a feeling his mate had it coming to him. He fucked with the wrong people, and he stole something he shouldn’t have, and he got stabbed. So, he’s angry and hurt and he has to go and get revenge, so he does and that’s it for him, basically. Once he has stabbed the lad who stabbed his mate, that’s it for him. He lashed out in revenge and he knows they’re coming to get him and he’s not even going to try and run because he knows he’ll just be running forever.”

“I started writing a riff and it ended up sounding a bit like Swan Lake, and everyone went, ‘Yeah!’”, Carl Barât continues. “Then we got Peter’s theremin player in which took about a day to get in tune, then he played that sequence and it worked beautifully. The idea of getting carted off for ten years is horrendous… the condemned man dies 1000 times.”

‘Night of the Hunter’ arrives alongside a new video directed by Alex Brown (La Roux, James Blake), which - like that for ‘Run Run Run’ - was shot in and around Margate. You can check it out below: