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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
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The Libertines
by The Libertines
While some eponymous albums suggest a lack of creativity, the heralded UK rock outfit's sophomore disc is titled 'The Libertines' because it is indeed about The Libertines--or, more specifically, about the ongoing conflict between the band's two songwriters, Carlos Barat and Pete Doherty (the latter of whom was subsequently kicked out of the band after three failed rehab attempts). The Clash's Mick Jones returns as producer.
| LABEL: |
Sanctuary |
| RELEASE DATE: |
31 August 2004 |
| DISCS: |
1 disc |
| GENRE(S): |
Indie, Rock |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
100
Uncut
The Libertines is a record of such raw autobiographical honesty that it carries a weight few others in 2004 can match. [Album of the Month, Sep 2004, p.94]
91
Village Voice (Consumer Guide)
Often seems fragile, offhand, tentative, even enervated. But this isn't a weakness--it only makes their sound more their own.
91
Spin
A dark, tense record, but one still crackling with life. [Sep 2004, p.114]
90
Q Magazine
This record... is brimming with character, easily surpassing their debut, its energy level like a battery charge. [Sep 2004, p.108]
90
Mojo
An extraordinary record... It's not, nor is it intended to be, easy listening. [Sep 2004, p.94]
90
ShakingThrough.net
One of the most exciting discs in recent memory.
90
New Musical Express
What you have here is the most agonisingly voyeuristic listening experience in rock, ever. It's also some of the most exhilarating and brilliant rock'n'roll of the past 20 years. [7 Aug 2004, p.46]
88
Filter
Goddamn if the entire mess doesn't sound great. [#12, p.93]
80
The Guardian
A step on from Up the Bracket, this album is a winningly idiosyncratic explosion of dizzy pop and punk fury that could yet be honed to perfection.
80
Billboard
Raw and emotional.
80
Trouser Press
A deeply moving record that is greater than the sum of its individual songs, The Libertines achieves near-tragic grandeur.
80
Neumu.net
It's basically more of the same sort of wistful, sometimes hard-charging melodic rock of the group's first and better release, Up the Bracket.
80
The Onion (A.V. Club)
The Libertines seems less of an exercise in salesmanship and more a set of lightly buzzed, brightly conversational studies of modern urban nightlife.
80
Playlouder
This is a fragile, beautiful music, it all nearly falls apart and then flops back together.
80
Junkmedia
Some songs are sloppily stretched out and others simply half-finished, but the ample charms of Doherty and Barat are just enough to rescue any of these lows.
80
All Music Guide
The Libertines is an accurate, sometimes uncomfortable reflection of the band at this point: more scattered and unstable than they were on Up the Bracket, but also more ambitious and more interesting.
71
Pitchfork
It's brilliant at points, exhibiting the casual, grimy grace that laced Up the Bracket through English countryside benders, sing-alongs, and pub anthems, but evidently, The Libertines are creatures of excess, and even a good thing can be overdone.
70
Rolling Stone
No band in recent history has better captured the vertiginous experience of falling apart and loving it. [16 Sep 2004, p.79]
70
Dot Music
Everywhere you look on this record there is a sense of magic escaped, accompanied by the ever-tantalising presence of a great band just beneath the surface.
70
Stylus Magazine
The Libertines don’t even try for a good album; they sound like four blokes lucky to be jamming in the same room again, and their joy in each other’s company redeems the enterprise.
67
E! Online
The album quickly unravels into a mess of mumbled vocals, pointless guitar solos and songs that sound suspiciously unfinished.
67
Austin Chronicle
The results are as ebullient as they are confessional.
67
cokemachineglow
Some of these songs are excellent, in an unfinished but inspired way. But many of the album's tracks evidence a band that's bursting at the seams with talent, only to stumble on unfocused, scattershot song-writing.
60
Blender
A thrilling, frustrating souvenir of a band whirling out of control. [Sep 2004, p.130]
50
Entertainment Weekly
Like the Strokes on their own sophomore effort, the Libs thoroughly disappoint on this follow-up. [24 Sep 2004, p.106]
40
Drowned In Sound
From the very start, The Libertines is the sound of the band at its most muzzled; paralysed by poor production, underdeveloped songs and private lives that have become more sensational and noteworthy than the music.
40
Alternative Press
The Libertines just don't live up to the hype. [Jan 2005, p.113]
The average user rating for this album is 8.8 (out of 10) based on 55 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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