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All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade Image
Metascore
72

Generally favorable reviews - based on 13 Critic Reviews What's this?

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  • Summary: The first full-length studio release from British indie rock band The Libertines since 2015's Anthems For Doomed Youth was recorded over four weeks and was produced by Dimitri Tikovoï.
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 13
  2. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. Apr 2, 2024
    90
    Whilst we aren’t handed the next chapter of The Libertines story on a platter, the beauty and tumult of the band is in the subtext. It’s in John Hassall and Gary Powell joining Barat and Doherty’s mythic duo on vocals for the first time on ‘Man With The Melody’. It’s in the closer, ‘Songs They Never Played On The Radio’, which was born in 2006 and finished for ‘All Quiet…’, one of the most beautiful Libertines songs of all time.
  2. 80
    Variously embracing fado, jazzy whiskey-bar blues and tensile, grandiose strings, ... Eastern Esplanade is easily The Libertines’ most expansive and ambitious record.
  3. What they have done, though, is find their voice again, and, for the first time in over 20 years, The Libertines feel like a band with a viable future.
  4. Apr 2, 2024
    70
    Even the weakest Libs composition is a standard many British songwriters can only aspire to, to this day. If nothing else, it’s heartwarming that the story is still unfolding for the Likely Lads.
  5. Apr 8, 2024
    70
    While the Libertines still haven't fully seized the opportunity to define what they could be as veterans instead of upstarts, All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade still sounds more like the product of a working band than Anthems for Doomed Youth did, and offers enough good and great moments to keep fans believing.
  6. Apr 8, 2024
    63
    The Libertines may be running low on originality, but they can still produce a strong tune when the muse strikes.
  7. Apr 10, 2024
    40
    The Libertines, with their second comeback, have chosen the other, “safe” direction, and sacrificed their integrity for it. Doherty sounds tired, abandoning nostalgia for kitschy gestures. Barât has fun, putting on his old jacket and playing rockstar, but he’s not rethinking his role as musician, or portraying growth as a songwriter.

See all 13 Critic Reviews

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