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Up The Bracket
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 15 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 47 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Sanctuary / Rough Trade
Release Date: 18 March 2003
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Indie, Rock
Summary
This debut disc from the hyped London garage band (deemed the UK's version of The Strokes by British music mags) was produced by The Clash's Mick Jones.
Also By This Artist: The Libertines
Also On Metacritic
MUSIC: Babyshambles: Down In Albion Dirty Pretty Things: Waterloo To Anywhere
Also On The Web: Official Artist Site
What The Critics Said
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...
Spin
This is music to play in dark, velvety, womblike bars; this is music to play while buying cigarettes; this is music for well-dressed poor people. [May 2003, p.109]
Blender
Not since the Clash has a band evoked so precisely the grime and thrill of young London. [#15, p.124]
Launch.com
The group's innate intelligence and almost shocking ability to forge something new and thrilling out of typical garage-rock influences always shines brightly through the thick Guinness fog.
Read Full Review >All Music Guide
Virtually every song on Up the Bracket is chock-full of the bouncy, aggressive guitars, expressive, economic drums, and irresistible hooks that made the Strokes' debut almost too catchy for its own good.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
Like The Clash before them, The Libertines draw primarily from decades of rock tradition-- blues, dub, a healthy whiff of the English countryside, and a few gorgeous rock riffs straight from the brainstem of Chuck Berry-- and fuse them into an unruly and triumphant monster of an album.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone
Eventually every song will kick in from a slightly different angle, including faux folk and cracked ballad.
Read Full Review >Mojo
This is thrilling, intelligent stuff. [Dec 2002, p.122]
PopMatters
Up the Bracket is the most overbearing UK rock album to come out since Oasis' Definitely Maybe.
Read Full Review >Trouser Press
Emphasizing colorful vocals over the average playing benefits the band enormously.
Read Full Review >Q Magazine
They're talented then, but also lucky that the strength of the decent songs outweighs the inclusion of the odd rough sketch, a studio jam, and an outright Chas & Dave-style stinker. [Dec 2002, p.103]
The Onion (A.V. Club)
As fun as Up The Bracket can be, it might well be better if the group acknowledged that it's living in the 21st century.
Read Full Review >Neumu.net
More life-affirming than life-changing, on Up the Bracket the Libertines deliver a stellar set of songs that -- both musically and lyrically -- neatly synthesizes the past 40 years of English rock.
Read Full Review >Alternative Press
While their occasional reliance on wide-eyed sloppiness isn't endearing, when the band clean up, they have some irresistible pop nuggest in them. [Apr 2003, p.80]
Playlouder
There's definitely something horrid, hairy and horrendously hippyish hobbling these lovely boys.
Read Full Review >Uncut
Seems an innocuous exercise in regurgitation rather than innovation. [Dec 2002, p.131]
What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 8.8 (out of 10) based on 47 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
erinc a gave it a10:
For me this insane cd is the best album of 2000's. since 2005 I haven't had a single consecutive 3 days period that I haven't listened to that. Subtle, life changing opportunity.
jeff b gave it a10:
I live in the U.S so this album is relatively unheard of and has no hype. I found it by chance and it totally revived my love for music. It is a revelation and one of the best albums ever. It sparked my new found interest in the British music scene, which is much better than the current American scene. 40 minutes of pure bliss.
cristian b gave it a10:
I usually like cut my wrist bands but this is not one and I loove it!
Duncan B gave it an8:
I think it is a shame that the slavish devotion of Libertines fans stopped me from enjoying this album at the time of its release as it really is fun and a breath of fresh air. Though a fine album the musicianship is average and it is only the charisma of the two frontmen and their lyrical skill that lifts this album. The Libertines like the Arctic Monkeys are blighted by obsessive fans whose inability to view the band objectively harms the public perception of them, slavish devotion will only lead to the artist growing complacent as shown by the inferior second album. Most of the L:ibertines die hards I know are like the character in Pulps "common people": Upper Middle Class drama students slumming it whilst they are at university but with the emergency get out of Papa if things get to grim.
Elliot M gave it a9:
Aside from a couple of weak links (which only pale in comparison to the greatness of the rest of the album), this is raw, invigorating and wholly British in all of it's thirty minutes plus. Messy and refined all at once.
Niall B gave it a10:
4 years after it was released and i still listen to this masterpiece everyday. it is quite simply the greatest album ever made. Every song is a classic. They are an amazng band who have totally changed my life and inspired me to pick up a guitar. up the albion!
maxwell w gave it a10:
The following fuckwit medias can FUCK off: uncut (who gives a fuck what you think you cunts) the onion a.v club or whatever (who the fuck are you?). oh and Q magazine. what cd were you listening to when you reviewed up the bracket?? i think this is a case of 'look at us we're controversial and give the best music the worst marks'. dick heads, perhaps you should review it again and remember to listen to it this time, rather than talk about U2 and the foo fighters.
