The Libertines: Up the Bracket [ROUGH TRADE]

Why you'll love it

This Rough Trade reissue comes with a printed 12-inch insert. The album reached No. 35 in the UK, the title track hit No. 29, and "Time For Heroes" reached No. 20.

This edition

• Printed 12-inch insert

About the album

Pete Doherty and Carl Barât wrote about a romantic, slightly dog-eared England of their own invention, and on Up the Bracket they sound like they're living in it. Rough Trade signed them, their first single What a Waster cracked the UK top 40, and the music press fell hard.

Mick Jones produced, with John Hassall on bass and Gary Powell on drums behind the two frontmen's tangled guitars and shared vocals. "Horror Show" and "Boys In The Band" tear along, "Radio America" drifts in a wistful daze, "The Boy Looked At Johnny" and "Begging" swagger, and "The Good Old Days" is the band's own manifesto. "I Get Along" closes in a hurry, which suits them.

Plenty of critics put it among the best albums of 2002, and the self-titled follow-up went to No. 1. Having a member of The Clash behind the desk is, in the trade, what's known as a decent reference.

Also at Kops: more The Libertines on vinyl · browse Alternative

Tracklist

Listen

On Rough Trade (cat# RTRADELP065), a reissue of the 2002 album.