The Libertines

WHY IS THERE HARMONICA IN THE FIRST SONG. Now I LOVE harmonica. I personally think it's one of if not the best instrument. But holy fuck it sounds so weird at the end of this song. I don't think harmonica was the right choice there, lads.

Nothing grabbed me on this one. Pretty generic Brit pop from the era.

Indie rock is such a hidebound genre. Production aside this could have been made at any point after punk. Sonically it's all a bit so what.

Loved this in those heady, trilbied days. Giving it another listen is a little painful now though. Some great singles that I think stand up. But too much skippable filler like 'Don't Be Shy', 'Narcissist' and 'Campaign of Hate'. Rushed out, underthought and overlong.

I can see why some people like this and some don't. I wasn't too impressed but there was juuust enough shambolic charm to save it from a two-star rating.

Music from the 70s made in 2004 but way worse.

Can't stand me now is a banger. Rest is fine. 3/5.

The Good: Modern rock!
The Bad: Modern rock…
The Ugly: album name = band name

So, for those of us who never really listened to The Libertines, we only really know of them due to Dohorty’s lifestyle...

This album did not impress me… however, it might have to do with a state of mind while listening to the album… shit happens.

Still, there is too much trying to be something they are not.
Don’t know… maybe I will give them one more spin tomorrow…

Down the middle 3*

Not what I’d reach for if I wanted to hear some garage rock revival. So many amazing bands but I guess this one was high on the British music charts so it ends up here. Not bad music, but I’ll never come back.

Raw, jaunty, catchy.

Not every song is brilliant but it feels like a classic.

3.5 enjoyable, but missing something to push it to a 4

Very early Arctic Monkeys-like, but without much of the flavor. It was a pretty enjoyable record for me, but not too much incentive to come back to it. Strong 3

2.5/5. There’s some solid moments to be found here. I liked the intro track “can’t stand me now” as well as the doo-wop-ish “What Katie did.” But most of the album is just pretty forgettable garage rock revival stuff with some hints of the Clash mixed in.

If you don’t care about singing in tune I would rather you talk sing or yell sing (not growl please) than sing off key to the point of making me wince.
Also these lyrics were not clever.

Just not very enjoyable unfortunately

better than expected

fun

I quite enjoyed The Libertines. When i saw that cover art, i was expecting this to either be a punk album or an indie rock album and both ended up being correct. The album certainly had a very fun vibe throughout with each song fully playing into the garage rock vibe which i am very often a fan of. I also thought that the vocals fit these songs very well by having that British garage rock flair which fit the songs very well. I was very mixed on whether i should give this album a 3 or a 4 because it had it's mix of good tracks and meh tracks but i felt that it had enough fun tracks for me to fully decide on a 4 so it is still a win for this album.
Best Song: The Saga
Worst Song: Last Post on the Bugle

some parts felt like an outro for a comedy show from the 90s anyway was quite good mostly

Ugh. Very nostalgic but apart from a few singles, The Libertines were a very bland band. I was a bit bored with this album

There were definitely better bands that emerged around the same time

2.5 but rounding up to 3 ⭐️