Grungy British indie rock is the new “in” genre, in case you didn’t know-so please stop requesting Ryan Cabrera and Jessica Simpson on the radio. They are unoriginal and way too American. Once you go Brit, you never go back. Picture a group of four 20-something year olds, more pale than a vampire and taller than Conan O’Brian. Now add the fact that they have better haircuts than the Beatles and know how to rock out a stage. Oh, they also have the number one album in the UK.
Congratulations! You have just met The Libertines. The Libertines have just released their second album and are currently touring the East Coast. The band consists of Peter Doherty on guitar/vocals, Carl Barat on guitar vocals, John Hassall on bass and Gary Powell on drums. The band has been dealing with insane press coverage recently since Doherty temporarily left the band this past summer to sort out a personal conflict he has with cocaine. Fans agree that the band doesn’t have the same vibe without him. But they appreciate his replacement for the American tour-a Bostonian named Anthony. The newest album was completed just before Doherty checked himself into a rehab center in England. He hopes to resolve his problem soon and join the band again when they return home to begin their Europe tour this coming winter.
The newest compilation of tracks by the band can be summed up in one word: turbulent. Though their sound and edge is consistent throughout all 14 tracks. The group clearly was writing some of the songs while witnessing a tube crash and other songs during a Sunday stroll in Leicester Square. In songs “Can’t Stand Me Now” and “What Became of the Likely Lads,” both dealing with the strain that Doherty’s troubles with drugs had on the band members on a more personal level. “Music When The Lights Go Out” is a more romantic song that adds to the album’s plethora of moods. The group swept up some Cat Stevens vibes with a track titled “What Katie Did,” and for some reason they couldn’t get enough adding in irrelevant “shoo-de-lang de-langs.”
The album slips back down to harder punk with the song that should have been titled “Bitchin’ Out Pete” but they decided to call it “The Saga.”
The Libertines are true indie rock. In the sense that their sound remains undefined, with occasional extreme switches in moods without warning and the band constantly brings all internal member drama to the recording room for everyone to hear and jump around to with silver spiked lighters.
-Diana Lee LaBrecque
