> Switch to Advanced Search

New & Current Releases
Archives: A-Z Index
Advanced Search

Upcoming Release Calendar
All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Music In Our Forums

sort by name

sort by score

55 3 Doors Down
69 9th Wonder & Buckshot
69 Adele
70 Adem
75 Alkaline Trio
76 Alphabeat
78 Animal Collective
54 Ashanti
68 Atmosphere
76 Beck
67 The Black Angels
83 Bonnie "Prince" Billy
71 Booka Shade
75 Boris
71 Billy Bragg
74 The Breeders
47 The Brian Jonestown Massacre
83 Bun B
64 T Bone Burnett
65 Mariah Carey
87 Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds
68 The Charlatans
68 Clinic
72 Coldplay
78 The Constantines
79 The Cool Kids
78 Elvis Costello & The Impostors
60 The Courteeners
79 Cut Copy
53 Craig David
73 Death Cab For Cutie
47 Def Leppard
61 Gavin DeGraw
64 Delays
66 dEUS
79 Neil Diamond
57 Dirty Pretty Things
57 Disturbed
59 Does It Offend You, Yeah?
73 Dresden Dolls
69 Dub Pistols
71 Duffy
69 The Duke Spirit
81 Jakob Dylan
76 Earlimart
70 Ecstatic Sunshine
65 El Perro del Mar
82 Elbow
85 Alejandro Escovedo
73 Estelle
72 The Explorers Club
79 The Fall
54 Feeder
72 Firewater
77 Tim Fite
88 Fleet Foxes
79 Flight Of The Conchords
74 Foals
79 Robert Forster
75 Four Tet
47 Foxy Brown
64 The Fratellis
59 Free Kitten
71 French Kicks
79 Frightened Rabbit
73 The Futureheads
68 The Gossip
81 Al Green
46 G-Unit
65 Albert Hammond, Jr.
72 Ed Harcourt
78 Emmylou Harris
82 HEALTH
57 Heloise And The Savoir Faire
85 Hercules And Love Affair
77 John Hiatt
64 Vanessa Hudgens
77 James Hunter
70 Islands
69 Jewel
79 Joan As Police Woman
71 Joan Of Arc
58 Scarlett Johansson
69 John & Jehn
59 Judas Priest
75 Kidz In The Hall
71 Fern Knight
65 The Kooks
69 Lady Antebellum
73 Ladytron
65 Langhorne Slim
77 The Last Shadow Puppets
67 Cyndi Lauper
66 Les Savy Fav
64 Leona Lewis
72 Jamie Lidell
71 Lil Mama
83 Lil Wayne
72 Local H
73 The Long Blondes
45 Los Lonely Boys
66 Lyrics Born
69 M83
65 Madonna
74 Man Man
79 Aimee Mann
80 Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog
67 Mates Of State
79 Matmos
80 James McMurtry
70 Colin Meloy
71 Midnight Juggernauts
63 Alanis Morissette
57 Motley Crue
65 Jason Mraz
74 The M's
79 Mudcrutch
77 Mudhoney
51 The Music
71 My Brightest Diamond
70 My Morning Jacket
64 N.E.R.D. [The Neptunes]
83 Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis
76 The Night Marchers
66 Nine Inch Nails
77 Nine Inch Nails
78 No Age
80 Jim Noir
76 The Notwist
54 The Offspring
72 Old 97's
87 Opeth
59 The Orb
62 James Pants
43 Katy Perry
71 Phantom Planet
84 Sam Phillips
56 The Pigeon Detectives
67 Plantlife
72 Plies
69 Robert Pollard
83 Ponytail
85 Portishead
75 Prodigy [of Mobb Deep]
71 Pyramids
48 The Rascals
73 Ratatat
86 Robyn
79 The Roots
48 Gavin Rossdale
72 Russian Circles
66 RZA
76 Santogold
78 Ron Sexsmith
86 Shearwater
81 Sigur Rós
78 Silver Jews
60 Carly Simon
62 Ashlee Simpson
76 Sloan
73 Sam Sparro
76 Spiritualized
89 Steinski
76 Subtle
66 Donna Summer
66 Supergrass
61 Tapes 'n Tapes
63 Three 6 Mafia
76 Thrice
76 Tilly And The Wall
64 The Ting Tings
51 Tokio Hotel
67 Tokyo Police Club
65 Usher
76 Vetiver
69 The Virgins
76 Martha Wainwright
75 Was (Not Was)
68 The Watson Twins
64 We Are Scientists
65 The Wedding Present
64 Weezer
76 White Denim
81 Cassandra Wilson
88 Dennis Wilson
61 Steve Winwood
79 Wolf Parade
63 The Zutons

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

The Libertines
by The Libertines


8.8

based on 28 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 55 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

Up The Bracket

MUSIC:

Official Artist Site

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]

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.

Spin

A dark, tense record, but one still crackling with life. [Sep 2004, p.114]

Q Magazine

This record... is brimming with character, easily surpassing their debut, its energy level like a battery charge. [Sep 2004, p.108]

Mojo

An extraordinary record... It's not, nor is it intended to be, easy listening. [Sep 2004, p.94]

ShakingThrough.net

One of the most exciting discs in recent memory.

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]

Filter

Goddamn if the entire mess doesn't sound great. [#12, p.93]

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.

Billboard

Raw and emotional.

Trouser Press

A deeply moving record that is greater than the sum of its individual songs, The Libertines achieves near-tragic grandeur.

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.

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.

Playlouder

This is a fragile, beautiful music, it all nearly falls apart and then flops back together.

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.

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.

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.

Rolling Stone

No band in recent history has better captured the vertiginous experience of falling apart and loving it. [16 Sep 2004, p.79]

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.

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.

PopMatters

Review #1: Despite the fact that the new album is, yet again, a half-assed effort, The Libertines is nonetheless a thoroughly fascinating one to hear. [score=60]; Review #2: There is not a weak moment on this album. [score=80]

E! Online

The album quickly unravels into a mess of mumbled vocals, pointless guitar solos and songs that sound suspiciously unfinished.

Austin Chronicle

The results are as ebullient as they are confessional.

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.

Blender

A thrilling, frustrating souvenir of a band whirling out of control. [Sep 2004, p.130]

Entertainment Weekly

Like the Strokes on their own sophomore effort, the Libs thoroughly disappoint on this follow-up. [24 Sep 2004, p.106]

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.

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.

pbaber gave it a10:
Up The Bracket is, for more, one of the greatest albums of all time. On hearing it, it made me feel invincible, vulnerable, angry, ecstatic. And this follow up is very close to being as good. A second maserpiece from the Libertines.

P Stirups gave it an8:
Song are good. Everything about it is good, but it isn't a rough and fun as the orignal Libertines album.

maria s gave it a10:
Painful, artistic, messy,amazing,the Libertines are one of those bands you hate to love because they make you care.

maxwell w gave it a10:
this is a fucking fantastic album, imperfect and raw. The libertines paints a scruffy, beautifal picture of pete doherty's and carl barat's crumbling relationship. and i can't stand the wankers who ignorantly dismiss this because its not as tediously polished as most tripe that reaches radio stations, if you own a brain cell, then this must be purchased. Alternative Press are also twats.

dom c gave it a10:
So honest its slanderous.

Todd R gave it a2:
When oh when will they stop ripping off the Wedding Present?

jaz b gave it a10:
shit hot album

The Libertines by The Libertines

The Libertines
by The Libertines