Carl Barat
's reputation as the (slightly more) responsible
Libertine
continues with
Waterloo to Anywhere
, his first album with
Dirty Pretty Things
, which also features former
Libs
drummer
Gary Powell
and guitarist
Anthony Rossamundo
, who filled in for
Pete Doherty
on
the Libertines
' last few tours. The album plays like a cleaner, slightly more straightforward version of the
mod
-
punk
Barat
contributed to his former band: tightly engineered blasts of sound like
"Deadwood"
and the limber, bouncy
"Doctors & Dealers"
get the album off to an impressive start, which should please
Libertines
fans burned out on
Doherty
's seemingly endless vicious cycle of arrests and addiction -- and, more importantly, on
Babyshambles
' erratic performances on stage and in the studio. The snarling wit that
brought to
is also in full force on
, particularly on the songs
claims aren't about his ex-bandmate, but "Evil Carl," aka his own negative traits and demons from when the
were still around. They're definitely songs about leaving someone or something behind:
insists that "the enemy is right inside my head" over a beat that snaps and bounces, and wants to "put all the rumors to bed" on
's standout track,
"Bang Bang You're Dead."
But, though the album is almost nothing but stomping rockers and
' energy never flags, it feels a little too predictable. The second half of the album particularly suffers from samey songwriting (although the final track,
"Last of the Small Town Playboys,"
is a notable exception), and it's all too tempting to replace
's less-impressive tracks with the handful of coherent songs from
'
Down in Albion
for a would-be
reunion.
's music doesn't have the baggage associated with
's brooding, poetic aspirations, but it doesn't quite have the same impact, either. As their respective post-
albums show,
is capable of being very good with
, and
is capable of occasional brilliance with
. But, for greatness (or at least the potential for it), they need each other. ~ Heather Phares