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The Libertines

The Libertines

2004

Buy At Rough Trade
The Libertines
Album Summary

The Libertines is the second studio album by English indie rock band The Libertines. Released on 30 August 2004, it is particularly biographical of the relationship between frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty. The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, selling 72,189 copies in its first week of release. The album is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In 2006, NME placed the album 47 in a list of the greatest British albums ever. In 2013, NME ranked the album at number 99 in its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The Libertines, like its 2002 predecessor, Up the Bracket, was re-released with a bonus DVD on 22 November 2004. The DVD, entitled Boys in the Band, is a collection of live shows, band interviews, and the "Can't Stand Me Now" promotional video. The song "Arbeit Macht Frei" featured in the 2006 film Children of Men.

Wikipedia

Rating

3.01

Votes

11656

Genres

  • Rock
  • Indie

Reviews

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Sep 06 2023
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4

Was a fan of the libertines when I was a teenager, proably one of the best U.K. bands from the 00’s Indie scene until the Arctic Monkeys came along. So this is rating has a personal bias to it, a soild 4 star album in my eyes. As a side note I seen everyone is jumping on the Wikipedia sentence that in 2005 this was voted the 3rd most overrated album of all time. Thought it was worst sharing the results of that poll here of that poll for context: 1 Nirvana - Nevermind 2 Coldplay - X&Y 3 The Libertines - The Libertines 4 Oasis - Definitely Maybe 5 U2 - Joshua Tree 6 Radiohead - OK Computer 7 The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 8 The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds 9 Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks 10 The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead Apart from X&Y I’d say that list is full of great albums, overrated maybe, but still great none of the less.

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May 25 2023
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3

It's not bad, it's the definition of "landfill indie" however, instantly forgettable but does make you feel good while listening so sneaks a 3

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Mar 26 2023
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2

Many people consider this to be Pete Doherty’s greatest achievement. I disagree. Doherty’s greatest achievement is successfully completing a Margate cafe’s Mega Breakfast challenge: if you can eat four rashers of bacon, four eggs, four sausages, hash browns, onion rings, bubble and squeak, beans, two slices of thick bread well as a quarter pounder burger and chips in under 20 minutes the breakfast is free.

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Mar 24 2023
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3

You already know an album is going to be a 3/5 at best when you see that the Wikipedia article for it is like 8 sentences long. One of those sentences being: "The Libertines was voted the third-most overrated album ever made in a 2005 BBC public poll." This sounds a bit like The Cla-oh, it was produced by Mick Jones. That makes sense. Yeah, it's exactly what I expected. More British punk - the most important genre in musical history according to this book. Kind of goofy. Yup, it's a 3/5.

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May 18 2023
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1

"The Libertines was voted the third-most overrated album ever made in a 2005 BBC public poll."

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Apr 06 2023
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4

Scrappy and lively, raffish and fun and very likably, if insistently, cheeky. But it does all seem a bit put-on. One gets that they were pipped to be like the Clash, but they simply ain’t all that, or didn’t work out to be. And the “Stones to Franz Ferdinand’s Beatles” is even more of a reach. Best cut: “Music When the Lights Go Out” and “What Katy Did.” Still, it’s well-made modern rock, with quality throughout, and a clear leader in the aughties division.

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May 15 2024
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1

God awful. I just can't. Okay, the 'live' sounding production is kinda cool, but to me it just sounds like some pretty competent dads having a drunken jam in the garage.

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Apr 10 2023
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5

Saw it was an English indie band and thought I knew what I was getting into, but they avoid all the pitfalls of their contemporaries. Rough around the edges but dialed in when it needs to be. I really enjoy their classic, clean sound. Best track: Road to Ruin

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Mar 27 2023
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5

This album is a post punk/indie rock jam of an album. Definitely the best of the libertines. Ive been a libertines fan since high school and that goes for Pete Doherty's other projects like Babyshambles and this album introduced me and will be a forever punk rock love of mine. I personally rate these projects above their predecessors such as the Clash and The Modern Lovers or anything else similar. The song writing

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Dec 13 2023
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4

Really likeable, catchy melodic punk - the gritty reality lyrical approach of the early Arctic Monkeys and the cockney tunesmith feel of Squeeze - but all on speed (unfortunately this isn't just a simile - it's the truth). I'm conflicted. The music is entertaining but Pete Doherty was such an arsehole, I struggle to separate the two

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Dec 14 2023
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2

The hip sound of a pill-fueled bender. Hard for me to stomach in our current post-ironic hellscape.

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Dec 12 2023
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2

Yet another album that seems to have been curated here because the author had a hard time coming up with the promised thousand albums.

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May 02 2024
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5

Great and charming album that deserved all the hype. Maybe more. It has all: rhythm, harmonies -and hormones-, mysticism. It is a fun listen. Yes, it may be the British response to The Strokes, and in some points, I consider it superior. Maybe it's the poetry and dandy vibes, the influence of The Smiths and William Blake. Happy to listen to this, over and over again.

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Apr 24 2023
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5

A beautifully chaotic jangly heartfelt piece of work. Five stars for being a pretty clear Arctic Monkeys precursor that I wasn't previously aware of.

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May 02 2024
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3

Not bad. Entertaining lyrics and a fun, ramshackle style.

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Nov 08 2023
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3

Better than I expected, given the track record of British indie records from the early aughts on this list, but inessential nonetheless.

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Nov 30 2023
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1

Pete Doherty is an insult to my eardrums

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Jul 31 2023
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5

A really decent album from the garage-rock revival era. I knew of The Libertines but only really knew of their most well-known tracks, but I enjoyed this a lot - they were a lot more varied than I expected. Their favourite track of mine isn't here, it was only ever a single (No points for guessing which...) but I thought this was great! Favourite: Can't Stand Me Now

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Mar 24 2023
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5

Bepaalde nummers van dit album kende ik al wel, maar ik heb het geheel denk ik nog nooit gehoord. Ik heb Up The Bracket (2002) en Babyshambles - Shotter's Nation (2007) ooit als LP gekocht, dus als ik toe was aan dit soort muziek zette ik 1 van die 2 albums aan. The Libertines is een vreemde band. Eigenlijk klinkt het regelmatig vrij kut omdat Pete Doherty voor geen meter kan zingen, of hij laat het in ieder geval niet al te vaak merken. Andere albums in deze lijst heb ik daar wel eens op afgeschoten, maar dit vind ik dan weer steengoed. Het klinkt bijna als een hoge kwaliteit live-album, met een band die zin heeft om muziek te maken ondanks de vechtscheiding die vrij snel hierna volgde. De gitaren en ook de drums, met name de snaredrum, klinken perfect. Hoogtepunten o.a. The Man Who Would Be King, Arbeit Macht Frei, Campaign of Hate, Road to Ruin.

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Feb 28 2024
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4

Another band I was not overly familar with but Can't Stand Me Now does ring some bells. I liked this album more than the Preachers album and found it to be a lot of fun. Faves: Can't Stand Me Now, Music When The Lights Go Out, What Became of the Likely Lads

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Sep 16 2023
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5

The libertines are to me the last true rock and roll band spillover from the 20th century - they’re dangerously falling apart musically and I guess truly at points in their short explosive burst of their original career - of which they barely survived but gave us two records of perfection - with a duo songwriting combo of Doherty and Barat - which echo the Lennon and McCartney phenomenon of being greater than the sun of their parts. This album is meticulously produced and performed - yet the struggles are evident even in the singing performances - the drums are comically overplayed but somehow just for the right amount and the guitars weave in and out dangerously with punk gusto. Doherty barks and mumbles away musically throughout while Barat keeps it grounded and Mick Jones captures it gleefully as it probably reminds him of the shambles the Clash were in their later years. An artful record - maybe maybe not totally perfect as their debut but only by a hair.

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Aug 23 2023
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5

9/10 amazing stuff throughout fantastic album

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Aug 12 2023
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5

I loved everything about this one. It's got just about everything I love about punk without actually being punk. The energy, the aesthetics, the devil-may-care attitude, even the little musical tropes of punk... it's all there. It feels like the spiritual successor or the evolution of The Clash. The songwriting is smart and self-aware, the musicianship is so good, the production is fantastic... There's a lot of garbage that seems to have made it onto the list just because it's British. This ain't that. THIS is legitimately great. What a fun surprise.

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Jul 15 2023
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5

Wonderful. That kind of young feeling I like this kind of punk

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May 12 2023
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5

it's about 50% the strength of up the bracket and it was a let down from all the bootleg versions of most of these songs but it's still steeped in nostalgia and there's some cracking songs on there, even if the recordings of them feel a bit sanitised.

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May 12 2023
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5

Obviously nowhere near as good as Up the Bracket, but I can't knock it.

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Aug 26 2024
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3

Gave it two listens. Can hear a lot of Ramones, Clash, Smiths, and Cure influences. It’s ok, but it wasn’t for me. 3/5

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Dec 05 2024
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2

Mediocre production of a mediocre album of a mediocre band.

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Oct 04 2024
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1

I am not a big fan of the Garage Rock Revival scene of the late 90's and 2000's. I find bands like the Strokes, The White Stripes or Arctic Monkeys to be extremely boring and average. It merely feels like a bland shadow of what once was the loudest and most Punk music before Punk was even a thing. And trying to replicate something like The Sonics is not really a good idea especially when the sound already is more sonically accepted. Additionally, The Libertines haven't really had a big influence or big importance other than one of their songs being in a movie. I think the album is terrible... Just straight up terrible! How has anybody given them the platform that they had? The albums first track, 'Can't Stand Me Now' is one of the albums "better tracks". While the vocals are already pretty bad, the songwriting is only alright as is the sound and chorus of the song. It's a bad song, it feels like if Morriseys had a twin who couldn't sing was to approach Indie Rock. Vocally, absolute trash. The rest is slightly better. Overall, not good nearly bad. 'Last Post on the Bugle' comes with a more Punk inspired sound and somehow the vocals sound even worse. And if that wasn't enough, the delivery is genuinely terrible. Nothing about this in terms of vocals is pleasent at any point. It's just terrible. And the music behind all that is definitely not enough to help the track out of the missery. Next song 'Don't Be Shy' is the same thing again just that the even the instruments sound bad now. The vocals are at points slightly better but at others just even worse, however that was possible. It is genuinely off-putting and terrible. It gives me physical pain and discomfort to listen to this garbage. 'The Man Who Would Be King' sounds like terrible Britpop which is interesting because Britpop is often times bad to begin with. The vocals are bad, as established, the lyrics try to be poetic? I guess? Because they are just terrible. And finally the instrument switch between basic and annoying. The entire project would've been better if everyone just started playing at random in Free Jazz style because that concoction would at least sound more interesting. Another terrible track. 'Music When the Lights Go Out' changes the style to a more Indie Rock style and it does make it slightly better at some points. It's still really bad but it is much less terrible than other tracks so far. A slight The Who and general Mod influence is really present on 'Narcissist' which is only slightly more entertaining because of it. It's bad but less bad. 'The Ha Ha Wall' is another terrible song. Bad delivery, terrible vocals, bad songwriting, terrible instrumentation. It's just unpleasant. I am German and I am very aware of the history and seeing the title 'Arbeit macht frei' is not something I want. For those who don't know, this was written above the entrence of Auschwitz. It is a sentence that should only be a part of history and not art and definitely not art in this way. I don't even care about the music, the title is enough for me to skip the song because I do not want to hear it. I might be ignorant but I don't care. This is not an album where I want to hear this used. 'Campaign of Hate' fittingly plays next and continues the annoying and bad vocals, the annoying and bad songwriting, oh my god I am just repeating myself. Terrible! More Indie again on 'What Katie Did' which starts more promising but it gets as terrible quickly with the god awful "Shoop shoop, shoop de-lang-a-lang" vocals. It's corny, annoying and performed worse than a theatre made by 5 year olds. Before I repeat myself again, 'Tomblands', 'The Saga', 'Road to Ruin', 'Road to Ruin' and 'What Became of the Likely Lads' are all just terrible in every single thing that they or try. I cannot write more because listening to this is worse than the Salt and Goat torture where your feet are covered in salt and goats lick it off until they reach your bones. This album with nothing else around you is worse. favourites: none least favourites: the entire atrocity of an "album" Rating: strong 0 to light 1 https://rateyourmusic.com/~Emil_ph for more ratings, reviews and takes

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May 15 2024
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1

Tosh. Pete Doherty killed a man and got away with it to make mediocre jangle pop like this.

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Jan 12 2024
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1

Could have died without listening to this shit

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Sep 13 2023
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1

I’m surprised to see no reference here to the greatest review this album received. (I may be misreading - the reviews only go back to March 2023 in my browser). Nigel Blackwell of Half Man Half Biscuit was so appalled by this record that he wrote the scathing “Shit Arm Bad Tattoo”. It is deliciously scathing, but the second verse always fills me with joy. ‘If you're going to quote from the Book of Revelation Don't keep calling it the Book of Revelations There's no "s", it's the Book of Revelation As revealed to St John the Divine See also Mary Hopkin She must despair.’ To me this album sounds like the tape was left running during a beery rehearsal. How it became one of the 1001 albums I must hear before expiring, I don’t understand. And I’ll be especially miffed if Achtung Bono isn’t on the list.

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Nov 21 2024
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5

I think this album is objectively awesome, but The Libertines get 5's all around for being one of the coolest bands ever anyway. So 5.

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Sep 30 2024
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5

Havde givet 6 hvis jeg kunne. BANGER BANGER BANGER

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Sep 18 2024
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5

"It's a must-listen for fans of early 2000s rock and those intrigued by the turbulent history of the band. The Libertines, released in 2004, offers a gritty snapshot of the British indie rock scene of that era. The album is a raw, chaotic mix of punk energy and poetic lyricism, with standout tracks like 'Can't Stand Me Now' and 'Music When the Lights Go Out.' Its unpolished production perfectly mirrors the volatile relationship between Pete Doherty and Carl Barat, adding emotional depth to their performances. While often compared to their debut Up the Bracket, this record stands apart, embodying a reckless musical spirit that has since become iconic."

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Sep 10 2024
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5

I no longer ear the muuuusicccc...

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Sep 06 2024
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5

Probably a better album than the band's debut *Up The Brackets*, thanks to more memorable songwriting, more dynamic instrumentation, and crispier production, *The Libertines* is the textbook early-noughts retro-rock album, which makes it kind of essential. Pete Doherty's sense of pace as a vocalist is still as rambling as ever, but provided he doesn't sing total duds (looking at you, "Don't Be Shy"), his performance is fully endearing here. And "Can't Stand Me Now", "The Man Who Would Be King", "The Ha Ha Wall", "Tomblands", "Road To Ruins", and "What Became Of The Likely Lads" are absolute garage rock gems. 4.5/5 for the purposes of this list of "essential" albums, rounded up to 5. 9.5/10 for more general purposes (5+4.5). Number of albums left to review: 75 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 398 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 231 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 297

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Sep 01 2024
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5

Highly enjoyable. Love how shambolic it is. Sure, Pete Doherty doesn't have a strong voice, but it sounds just right for this material. Feels like a five to me today.

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Aug 08 2024
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5

Hugely nostalgic album. Takes me back to first year of uni, had a sticker of this album cover on a folder. Pete Doherty used to fascinate me, still does to be fair.... Recently watched the Louis Theroux documentary about him. Unfortunately missed them live the first time round, but got to see them at Prenton park with the whole Jeremy Corbyn chants a while back. Was great. Anyway, this album is fantastic, I love it. Not as good as up the bracket, which hopefully will be on the list too. Highlights: Can't stand me now Last post on the bugle Music when the lights go out Narcissist What became of the likely lads 4.5, allows room for up the bracket

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Apr 29 2024
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5

One of the bands that began a long lasting love for this genre, indie sleaze. Perfect in every way, Can’t Stand Me Now is one of my favourite songs of all time.

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Apr 12 2024
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5

I guess these two Herberts are the pinnacle of “indie sleaze” which I think means they were stinky skag heads in skinny jeans. I used to listen to them a lot when I was a teenager, and I definitely preferred their first album but revisiting this for the first time in ages I think it stands up well. I always thought it would fall apart if they didn’t have such a solid rhythm section, and the sound of scrappy guitars and sloppy vocals over that solid foundation still sounds really good. I think the song writing is high quality and it’s a shame the many imitators that came afterwards dragged them into the indie landfill category. The album actually gets a lot better as it goes on, I’d forgotten how good ‘the haha wall’ and ‘campaign of hate’ are. It ends strongly on a bittersweet note which is pure nostalgia for me. I can imagine our American friends struggling with this one but I think it’s eclectic and enjoyable the whole way through.

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Mar 25 2024
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5

I really enjoyed this album all the way through. My favourite from the list so far, so much so i listened thrice!

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Mar 06 2024
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5

I was first introduced to this album in Australia in 2005. "The Libertines" (along with Razorlight's "Up All Night" and "The Complete Stone Roses") was new to me and heavily featured in the soundtrack to my backpacking adventure down under. This was one of the few albums that genuinely changed my music-loving brain. It was a new(ish) sound. The imperfect duelling guitars that mesh perfectly together. The raw yet melodic vocals. The fucking lyrics. I instantly loved it. This is a complete album. Every song hits. "Music When the Lights Go Out", in particular, is a pure magic; songwriting genius. I still love everything about this record. These boys are exceptionally talented degenerate junkies. 👍👍

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Feb 14 2024
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5

Ahhh, what a fantastic album. A tour de force. I bloody love this album and it holds up so well. It really takes me back to be being a teenager. The album has such a feel to it. I love the things like random whistles, guitar sounds, shouting etc, it sounds chaotic but all together. Pete Doherty's lyrics are so good, really poetic and beautiful but then put amongst this chaotic sound and the whole world he was living in make such a juxtaposition, it's great. Stay off the drugs Pete.

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Feb 08 2024
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5

It takes a pair of friends to fight and split up their band to come up with such a raw, beautiful song as 'Can't Stand me Now'. I totally get why people think this record is overrated. But, c'mon. Depressive, kind of catchy mix between 70s punk and 90s britpop? This is totally my kind of music.

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Dec 07 2023
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5

The songs are not as good as they are on Up The Bracket (a six-star album in my opinion) but everything you love about The Libertines is here on the S/T record.

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Dec 06 2024
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4

Great listen! Punk sensibility with some Morrissey influence. Just let it go on repeat for a while. Highlights: Can't Stand Me Now, The Ha Ha Wall, The Saga

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Dec 02 2024
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4

Nice eclectic UK indie rock. Was surprised by the range

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Nov 27 2024
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4

Overall strong, if quite performative and showy, like all these bands were. Their attitudinal strengths and style points don't extend all that well over the years. “Music When the Lights Go Out” and “What Katy Did" are top tracks. Decent quality and maybe not quite so tiresomely full of themselves as FF and Strokes.

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Nov 27 2024
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4

A BBC public poll named this album as 3rd most overrated album ever made. Oh no... This was definately a rear loaded album. The first like 5 songs were shitty British indie, then the rest of the album was punk/garage rock akin to The Clash, The Jam, or The Kinks... Not bad. This album was produced by Mick Jones of The Clash apparently. Favourite songs: Narcissist, The Saga, Arbeit Macht Frei, The Ha Ha Wall, Tomblands, Campaign of Hate, Road to Ruin Least favourite songs: Don't Be Shy 4/5

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Nov 20 2024
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4

I enjoyed this record. 4 stars, why the fuck not.

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Nov 14 2024
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4

Music When The Lights Go Out, Campaign Of Hate, and The Ha Ha Wall gotta be my favourite tracks on the album.

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Nov 06 2024
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4

Never heard of these guys, but I really liked it. I can't even quite put my finger on why - it's just good.

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Nov 01 2024
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4

Skemmtilegt skítugt rokk. Best þegar maður heyrir Mick Jones áhrifin í gíturunum. Kom mér líka á óvart hvað margt minnti á Pulp, sérstaklega Music when the lights go out, sem er mjög gott lag.

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Oct 18 2024
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4

I have a very soft spot in my heart for 2000s Brit rock and this album definitely secured its lasso on that soft spot. Very nostalgic feeling to it even though I've only ever listened to "Can't Stand Me Now." That being said, it definitely isn't the best of that genre, but I enjoyed what I was listening to.

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Oct 13 2024
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4

There is a rawness that is either genuine or contrived, but it works. Retro 60s vibe to the rock.

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Oct 13 2024
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4

I didn't know what to expect with this one and actually quite liked it. While I found their sound reminiscent of the late 60s, I thought they did it well.

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Oct 07 2024
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4

Three straight days with a 4 star album gotta be a record for me. Anyway, really liked this one, what Katie did is a masterpiece & Can’t stand me now is amazing too. I liked most of the songs.

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Sep 27 2024
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4

Solid punk rock album, felt raw and chaotic at times which gave it a unique style vs similar bands. Favorite songs were: 7. Music when the lights go out 10. Ha ha wall 14. What became of the likely lads 7/10

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Sep 27 2024
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4

This was a rock solid rock album. I really only knew of the Libertines as the band that Amy Winehouse's bad influence boyfriend was in. From that I kinda didnt expect to like them, but this was a great example of the bit-pop energy. Album cover: (B) Not a great visual, but it really does capture that Skins-esque feeling of all the illicit fun I associate with that era.

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Sep 27 2024
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4

This album has the classic 2000s british rock sound for sure. The song "Narcissist" reminds me a lot of the Fratellis. The sound is a little played out for me personally, but I do like it a lot. This sound is such a big part of my youth that I can't help but view it positively. It feels a little like the backing track to a full decade of my life. This era of music is made to be listened to it in sweaty underground British basements. I was too young to be in basements. They started right after I left and I'm sure everyone was having a lot of fun. Without me. The album is good and definitely a fun listen. I listened to it in a setting where it was hard to track individual songs, so I've got to give a general review of the album. 7/10

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Sep 19 2024
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4

Melodic, unpolished music, just lovely.

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Sep 18 2024
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4

some interesting music but sort of lost me halfway through

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Sep 05 2024
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4

The Libertines are a British alt-rock band who had a short, tumultuous career. Their self-titled album was their second release, and the band's best work. Carl Barat and Pete Doherty were the songwriting pair that made the band. Doherty had recurring issue with narcotics that eventually broke up the band. The Libertines were part of a "garage rock" resurgence of the aughts. They made guitar-driven rock songs, with interesting melodies. This is a collection of good songs from a band with great potential and an unfortunately short career.

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Sep 01 2024
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4

Never heard of these guys 'til getting this album, but I really dig the Garage Rock Revival sound, so this is super up my alley. 4.5 bumped down to 4 for having each guitar part being on different audio channels, though.

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Sep 01 2024
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4

I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump down to a 4. There’s a big chance this album will hit way less on any subsequent relistens, and I’m fully prepared for that to be the case – for a first go-around though, I’m just a sucker for this style, and I think this is 42 minutes of it being done really, really well. The big thing this album has going for it on its Wikipedia page is that it was “voted the third-most overrated album ever made in a 2005 BBC public poll,” and… that might be kind of fair. I don’t think this is an album that should’ve changed the world or anything, and if it did light the UK on fire, then that’s sort of odd. I don’t think it does anything so special that it should be near a “top 100 albums of all time” list or something similar. Within its own genre and style, I’m sure there are better albums than this, and I’m sure we’ll get to some of them. With that said, I’m just a sucker for this style – this is a great Arctic Monkeys album, even if this came a year and a half before the Arctic Monkeys dropped their first proper studio album. There’s some serious standouts here; I think “Can’t Stand Me Now” is a hell of an opener, I think “Music When the Lights Go Out” has a really nice sort of local bar feel before the instrumentation kicks in (without distracting from the atmosphere, mind you), and the obvious 60s throwback that is “What Katie Did” just appealed right to my cheesy little musical sensibilities. I’ll give the album extra credit; I think this is one of the few times an album has actually gotten me on a hidden track, even in the streaming era. The acoustic piece that ends the album is really, really nicely recorded, and I think it’s just a very quaint finish to a rather fun album. The energy never really lets up, and I don’t think there’s a bad track here. It’s not perfect; a lot of this style is stuck in the early 2000s, and it does have that sort of “this fits right on a Tony Hawk soundtrack” smell that sometimes works in its favor and sometimes doesn’t… but I think it works more often than not. I just really, really enjoyed this, but not enough to bump it up to a 5. Very fun album; very good 4.

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Sep 01 2024
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4

With a couple of tracks trimmed, this would've been a 5.

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Aug 30 2024
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4

At first I really didn’t like this because it sounded like generic irritating Brit rock the album looped on accident and I found myself enjoying it a lot more for some reason. I’m not even sure what really changed but songs like music when the lights go out were a lot more fun.

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Aug 27 2024
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4

At first I was thinking this was nothing more than a Pulp rip off band, but the first half of the album is pretty solid. Definitely one of my favorites from the seemly endless UK indie bands on this list.

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Aug 23 2024
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4

I did like the singles back in the day although not a fan of the band or personnel. This caught me by surprise though- sometimes you just need some breezy tunes on a grey day. There wasn’t one song I didn’t sing or jiggle along to.

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Aug 19 2024
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4

Did you know that The Libertines released an album this year? No, me neither. I’ve not heard anything of them since they reformed and released that third album that I didn’t listen to, and that was about 10 years ago. What Became Of The Likely Lads indeed. The Libertines really should be considered the British Strokes, the genuine original scene leaders showing the way for how Rock could exist in the 21st century. Instead that title goes to the Arctic Monkeys, who were not exactly proteges but certainly followers of the initial Libertines playbook. I do think The Libertines should be remembered, but I think what is likely to be best remembered is their first album, and relistening to their self-titled, I can see why. The Libertines is not a bad album at all, and in fact I think it has their best song in Can’t Stand Me Now, but it isn’t as cohesive a whole as Up The Bracket. That’s the problem. And, for a band as intentionally ramshackle and scrappy as The Libertines were (are?) it feels a bit silly to complain that it isn’t as good as their other album, because it’s still fine, it’s pretty good. But when The Libertines legacy becomes inevitably stories of their infighting and the relationship between Doherty and Barât, I won’t be surprised if The Libertines the album gets overlooked somewhat

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Aug 17 2024
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4

Music when the lights go out on its own is a clear 5

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Aug 08 2024
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4

I tried to make myself like this album a few years ago. I am a big fan of indie rock and I do enjoy some garage rock revival, but this is one album I couldn’t get into. I admire the musicianship and I liked two or three of the songs (‘Narcissist’ is good) but overall there’s just something (that I can’t quite pinpoint) that I don’t like about it.

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Jul 27 2024
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4

The Libertines has everything I love raucous raw energy and clanging guitars. An album only a British band could create. There is someone about their poetry of crushing women. Not to mention the drugs. 8.2/10

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Jul 17 2024
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4

some days i love it, some days i skip it. Shes got a beautiful voice but just not a never skip

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Jul 12 2024
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4

Well, that was a surprise. I didn't expect that kind of music from the knobs on the album cover. I was prepared for some depressing, self-indulgent Radiohead sounding crap. This was upbeat and fun, with sort of a throwback sound. I heard John Lennon, The Clash, The Cure, and other likely influences here. I will listen to this again at some point.

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Jul 12 2024
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4

Being 22 when this record came out what I remember is just all the crap that went with Pete Dockerty which is a shame as this was really fresh at the time. Soild album. Stand out tracks: - Music when the lights go out - Narccist - The ha ha wall - Campaign of hate - The Saga - What became of the likely lads

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Jul 03 2024
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4

All these years later, I'm still loving this album. Some cracking songs on it. All round great work.

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Jun 22 2024
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4

My views on this album and this band have changed over time. I initially disliked the whole thing and thought they were overrated but now I've softened. They are very similar in vibe to a lot of other (good) bands at this time and now I'm a bit more nostalgic. Energetic, brash, disjointed and fun. Good indie rock....

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Jun 20 2024
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4

Never listened to The Libertines until they came on the list. I rather enjoyed it. Not as life shattering as some of the other raters felt. Solid album.

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Jun 17 2024
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4

I had this album on repeat when it first came out. Not quite sure why. It’s a good album in that it’s not too polished; you hear what they would sound like live without having to leave your house.

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Jun 12 2024
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4

A nice surprise! I liked the grungy, dive bar, British punk/ska vibe of this album.

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Jun 06 2024
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4

Better than I expected, fun to listen to.

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Jun 05 2024
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4

I cant believe this album is now 20 years old. I have a love hate relationship with the Libertines. Their are some great songs but they are just so poor live!! This is good and middle of the road Indie! Some great pop tunes, some hidden gems and some filler. Favourite song: cant stand me now and what katie did next Least favourite: Dont be shy Album artwork: Iconic cover

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