The first British band to rival the garage rock revival sparked by the Strokes and White Stripes in the U.S., the Hives in Sweden, and the Datsuns in, er, New Zealand, the Libertines burst onto the scene with Up the Bracket, a debut album so confident and consistent that the easiest way to describe it is 2002's answer to Is This It. That's not just because singer/guitarist Pete Doherty's slurred, husky vocals sound like Julian Casablancas' with the added bonus of a fetching Cockney accent (or that both groups share the same tousled, denim-clad fashion sense); virtually every song on Up the Bracket is chock-full of the same kind of bouncy, aggressive guitars, expressive, economic drums, and irresistible hooks that made the Strokes' debut almost too catchy for the band's credibility. However, the resemblance is probably due more to the constant trading of musical ideas between the States and the U.K. than to bandwagon-jumping -- the Strokes' sound owes as much to Britpop sensations like Supergrass (who had the Libertines as their opening band on their 2002 U.K. tour) and Elastica as it does to American influences like the Stooges and the Velvet Underground. Likewise, the Libertines play fast and loose with four decades' worth of British ock history, mixing bits and bobs of British Invasion, mod, punk, and Britpop with the sound of their contemporaries.
On paper it sounds horribly calculated, but (also like the Strokes' debut) in practice it's at once fresh and familiar. Mick Jones' warm, not-too-rough, and not-too-polished production both emphasizes the pedigree of their sound and the originality of it: on songs like "Vertigo," "Death on the Stairs," and the excellent "Boys in the Band," the guitars switch between Merseybeat chime and a garagey churn as the vocals range from punk snarls to pristine British Invasion harmonies. Capable of bittersweet beauty on the folky, Beatlesque "Radio America" and pure attitude on "Horrorshow," the Libertines really shine when they mix the two approaches and let their ambitions lead the way. "Did you see the stylish kids in the riot?" begins "Time for Heroes," an oddly poetic mix of love and war that recalls the band's spiritual and sonic forefathers the Clash; "The Good Old Days" blends jazzy verses, martial choruses, and lyrics like "It's not about tenements and needles and all the evils in their eyes and the backs of their minds." On songs like these, "Tell the King," and "Up the Bracket," the group not only outdoes most of its peers but begins to reach the greatness of the Kinks, the Jam, and all the rest of the groups whose brilliant melodic abilities and satirical looks at British society paved the way. Though the album is a bit short at 36 minutes, that's long enough to make it a brilliant debut; the worst you can say about its weakest tracks is that they're really solid and catchy. Punk poets, lagered-up lads, London hipsters -- the Libertines play many different roles on Up the Bracket, all of which suit them to a tee. At this point in their career they're not as overhyped as many of their contemporaries, so enjoy them while they're still fresh.
So Pete likes the Gorillaz...So do millions of others. Pete's also slowly killing himself which you can witness here as he shoots up here...It's unfortunate not because I care about Pete (or Kate for that matter) but he made some great music. This has me thinking. Am I so selfish that I don't give a damn about someones self destructive tendencies-I just care about the pleasure that their art br...
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A friend of mine turned me on to the Libertines a while ago. He described them to me like this."They sound like The Kinks..and The Jam..in a street fight...for the last amphetamine in the gutter." Seems about right to me.
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I love this album, and it's a shame the wrters fell out.Doherty may be bit if a w***er the way he courts the press, but this song shows him to be a guy with some talent. especially the line"There are fewer more distressing sights than that Of an Englishman in a baseball cap"check it out
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The Libertines' Up the Bracket has been my favourite album of all-time since I first heard it in January 2005...and I really wish I hadn't arrived so late to the party. As I had discussed in the AFIN feature on Andrew Kendall, it was spotting some of his photos of the Libertines in December 2004 at The Killers Network in some users' avatars and signatures that caused me to check them out. I had...
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So Pete likes the Gorillaz...So do millions of others. Pete's also slowly killing himself which you can witness here as he shoots up here...It's unfortunate not because I care about Pete (or Kate for that matter) but he made some great music. This has me thinking. Am I so selfish that I don't give a damn about someones self destructive tendencies-I just care about the pleasure that their art br...
More >
[IMG]http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w167/laurastarlite/PeterFooty.jpg[/IMG] congrats to peter xxx& because i stumbled on a music blog today for a completely random & non-libertines reason only to discover that blogger was writing a 33 1/3 book for up the bracket.lucy.
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My workflow coordinator, Kevin, is the one of the coolest people in my office. When we aren't too busy, we have a daily discussion of music. He's promised me CDs of music - like Black Keys, The National and more.Last Friday we discussed The Libertines and BabyShambles. I said I had only heard a few tracks by the, and I liked what I heard. Then I lamented about Pete Doherty's addiction to cra...
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The libertines. One of the most influential Indie Bands of all time. Proven themselves with a rags to riches story riddled with arrests and drug problems. Their songs filled with tales of despair and down luck. I absolutely love the libertines. Enjoy.
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A friend of mine turned me on to the Libertines a while ago. He described them to me like this."They sound like The Kinks..and The Jam..in a street fight...for the last amphetamine in the gutter." Seems about right to me.
More >
I love this album, and it's a shame the wrters fell out.Doherty may be bit if a w***er the way he courts the press, but this song shows him to be a guy with some talent. especially the line"There are fewer more distressing sights than that Of an Englishman in a baseball cap"check it out
More >
| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Vertigo |
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| 2 Death on the Stairs |
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| 3 Horrorshow |
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| 4 Time for Heroes |
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| 5 Boys in the Band |
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| 6 Radio America |
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| 7 Up the Bracket |
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| 8 Tell the King |
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| 9 The Boy Looked at Johnny |
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| 10 Begging |
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| 11 The Good Old Days |
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| 12 I Get Along |
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Click to purchase…
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 "Up the Bracket")
