Waterloo To Anywhere

The Libertines have to be among the most tragic bands to appear in recent years. Not because of untimely death or anything, but simply because they're so talented, yet somehow could never get their act together.

Well, anyway, the Libertines are over - what you have left is Babyshambles, the occasionally brilliant and awfully-named band from guitarist Pete Doherty, and this, vocalist Carl Barat's project, Dirty Pretty Things.

It's not more of the same, even though (of course), it is quite similar. This is a fulfilment of the early mod-punk elements that Barat brought to the Libertines. So you've got nods to the Kinks, the Clash and so on. It's a sound that requires more discipline than Doherty ever had to offer, but not as much creativity.

So the songwriting on Waterloo To Anywhere can get a bit tired, especially in the central section. Around the point of The Gentry Cove and Gin & Milk the album goes through a soggy period of same-soundingness, although uplifts come in the form of the excellent The Enemy and closing track Last of the Small Town Playboys, which features the only truly left-of-the-usual composition on the album, with its wonderfully layered instrumentation and hot-swappable time signatures.

Despite certain shortcomings, this is highly entertaining stuff- catchy, exuberant, danceable, stylish and punchy. The opening triple salvo - Deadwood, Doctors & Dealers and Bang Bang You're Dead - is a good archetype for what's great about this album. If you want to find out if this is an album for you, just sample these three songs and you'll know. This will also help to determine whether you're a fun-fest or a bore.

Selected tracks: Deadwood, Bang Bang You're Dead, The Enemy, Last of the Small Town Playboys.

By Jeremy Mahadevan
Source:New Straits Times