Peter Doherty Felt Better Alive
Released May 16, 2025 Strap Originals
Consensus forming 4 professional reviews Updated Oct 1, 2026
Broadly positive consensus
Consensus is still forming across 4 professional reviews. Peter Doherty's Felt Better Alive finds the former enfant terrible trading streetwise delirium for a quieter, domestic literality that critics say suits him.
How ChoruScore worksCritics' Top Tracks
The songs critics returned to most
Calvados
3 critic mentions
“There’s evidence of Francophilia throughout, including opener ‘Calvados’, a love letter to his adopted home of Normandy” — Hot Press
Pot Of Gold
3 critic mentions
“On "Pot of Gold" - written for his infant daughter - the former wild man croons” — The Independent (UK)
Poca Mahoney's
3 critic mentions
“Lisa O’Neill brings some fierce directness to slice through Doherty’s jaunty menace on "Poca Mahoney’s” — The Independent (UK)
Full critic consensus
Peter Doherty's Felt Better Alive finds the former enfant terrible trading streetwise delirium for a quieter, domestic literality that critics say suits him. Across professional reviews, the record's strongest moments - notably “Calvados”, “Pot Of Gold” and “Poca Mahoney's” - crystallize Doherty's renewed focus on family, recovery and small-town storytelling, and they answer the question of whether Felt Better Alive is good with a cautious yes.
The critical consensus is measured but favorable: the album earned a 75/100 consensus score across four professional reviews, with critics consistently praising the pastoral arrangements, ragtime-country bounce and poetic lyricism. Reviewers highlighted “Calvados” as a baroque, Francophile vignette and one of the record's best songs, while “Pot Of Gold” registers as a lullaby-sincere ode to fatherhood and recovery. “Poca Mahoney's” repeatedly emerges as the track with chorus bite and storytelling grit, and “Felt Better Alive” and “Ed Belly” were noted for their weary, confessional strength.
While some critics flagged uneven moments and occasional cutesy hooks, the prevailing view across the reviews is that Doherty's softer palette yields richly observed character pieces and moments of genuine redemption. For listeners searching for the best songs on Felt Better Alive or wondering what critics say about the new record, the consensus suggests a rewarding, if imperfect, addition to his catalog that foregrounds recovery, nostalgia and a renewed focus on family and survival.
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Calvados
Pot Of Gold
The Day The Baron Died
Stade Océan
Out Of Tune Balloon
Felt Better Alive
Ed Belly
Poca Mahoney's
Fingee
Prêtre De La Mer
Empty Room
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What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 4 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Peter Doherty sounds unexpectedly domestic and winsome on Felt Better Alive, the record’s best tracks - notably “Pot Of Gold” and “Calvados” - trade his old delirious edges for charming, cutesy melodic hooks. Helen Brown’s prose keeps the reviewer’s amused, slightly sardonic voice, admiring how strings, mournful trumpet and a clarinet solo dress up these pretty ditties. She foregrounds Doherty’s fatherhood and rehab recovery as shaping the tunes, so queries about the best songs on Felt Better Alive point to the lullaby sincerity of “Pot Of Gold” and the deliciously ripe hook of “Calvados”. The review’s tone is affectionate but candid, noting moments that are both transcendent and obnoxious, which is why those two tracks stand out as the album’s highlights.
Key Points
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The best song is “Pot Of Gold” because its lullaby intimacy and personal lyrics showcase Doherty’s renewed tenderness.
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The album’s core strengths are charming melodies, nostalgic Beatles touchpoints, and the interplay of tenderness with boorish wit.
Themes
Ho
Critic's Take
Peter Doherty slips back into minstrel mode on Felt Better Alive, and the best songs on the album are those that marry his rueful poetry to vivid scenes, notably “Calvados” and “Poca Mahoney's”. The baroque sincerity of “Calvados” — a love letter to Normandy — and the different-class chorus snarl of “Poca Mahoney's” make them the standout tracks here. There is tenderness in “Pot Of Gold” and ragtime-country swagger on the title track, but it is the storytelling in “Calvados” and the chorus bite on “Poca Mahoney's” that mark the best tracks on Felt Better Alive. Overall the record feels like a fine addition to his canon, uneven but rewarded by its brightest moments.
Key Points
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The best song is “Calvados” for its baroque sincerity and vivid Normandy imagery.
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The album’s core strengths are vivid storytelling, poetic lyrics, and moments of ragtime-country swagger.
Themes
Critic's Take
Peter Doherty sounds relieved on Felt Better Alive, a record where the best songs - “Calvados”, “Pot of Gold” and the title track “Felt Better Alive” - read like weathered confessions and small-town parables. The opening “Calvados” primes the album with pastoral, fiddle-sketched vignettes, while “Pot of Gold” offers a tender ode to family and the title track operates as a war-scarred manifesto. Doherty leans into character pieces like “Poca Mahoney's” and “Ed Belly”, where storytelling and a country bounce make his strengths unmistakable. Ultimately the record is less about grand ambition and more about exhaling, having fun and reaffirming Doherty as a singular songwriter.
Key Points
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The best song is the opener 'Calvados' because it establishes the album's pastoral, character-driven tone with fiddle and vivid imagery.