DIRTY PRETTY THINGS

DIRTY PRETTY THINGS
WATERLOO TO ANYWHERE (2006)
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His former Libertines bandmate may grab all the headlines, but Carl Barat's Dirty Pretty Things seem to have grabbed all of the tunes on Waterloo To Anywhere. Like The Jam, The Clash and even The Kinks, the Dirty Pretty Things have an innate ability to take their basic guitar-bass-drums setup and make them sound unmistakeably English. Of course, frontman Barat's laconic London accent helps, but it's more than that. The music, with it's mixture of punk rock and ska, owes a large debt to the aforementioned Clash--and, like them, the Dirty Pretty Things also know how to write a catchy tune, as anyone who's heard the single "Bang Bang You're Dead" will attest. Moreover, the lyrics are as reflective of contemporary Britain as anything by The Streets (particularly "You F*cking Love It"). Best of all, like the best punk albums, Waterloo to Anywhere is short, sharp and possessed of a tangible urgency--the album's 12 songs clock in at just about 36 minutes. Considering the shambles that Barat's former colleague Pete Doherty has become, it's particularly encouraging to hear something as good as Dirty Pretty Things rise from the ashes of the Libertines.

1. Deadwood
2. Doctors & Dealers
3. Bang Bang You're Dead
4. Blood Thirsty Bastards
5. The Gentry Cove
6. Gin & Milk
7. The Enemy
8. If you Love a Woman
9. You Fucking Love It
10. Wondering
11. Last Of The Small Town Playboys
12. B.U.R.M.A.