dirtyprettythings-romanceatshortnotice music reviews Virgin Media
The Libertines' vapour trail begins to fade.
When Pete Doherty went to prison for burgling Carl Barat's flat he pretty much assured that The Libertines wouldn't be remembered for their occasionally brilliant music. Carl's new band have the opposite problem. With Amy Winehouse's beehive dominating the tabloids Romance At Short Notice's release is entirely about the tunes. That should be a good thing, shouldn't it?
Well, yes. And there are some pretty good tunes here, too. The sweet ballad Fault Lines, for example, proves to any grandma's satisfaction that Carl can sing nicely when he wants to. And Buzzards And Crows has a rollicking fairground quality like a gutter Sergeant Pepper. They have attempted to move on slightly from the garage rock of their debut, then. Best Face even has a staccato vocal that verges on rap.
But on the whole this is just another raucous indie record, slightly overstuffed with scrappy guitars, just like, say, The Cribs or Dogs. Who? Exactly.
More to try:
The Libertines: Up The Bracket
Dogs: Turn Against This Land
The Cribs: Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever
Babyshambles: Down In Albion
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