The Beat Surrender

After the inglorious demise of ‘The Libertines’, Carl Barat could have been forgiven for kicking back, and taking it easy. Instead, he came back with 2006’s terrific ‘Waterloo to Anywhere’ album, where on the likes of ‘Bloodthirsty Bastards’, and ‘Bang Bang Your Dead’, he laid some ghosts to rest in some style. If your hoping, however, that his and the bands bitter, bilious anger would make it on to album two, your sadly mistaken.

It starts off very promisingly. ‘Buzzards and Crows’, is punk rock in all but name, as he takes a sneery sideswipe at day trippers ‘Making eyes at the scene’, before he begs them all to ‘go to hell’. During ‘Hippys Son’, Barat does a more than passable Joe Strummer impression, while the band give us a blast of punk, that’s all too rare. ‘I was your baby boy, I was designed to destroy’.

Current single, ‘Tired of England’, encapsulates the albums problems, as he’s not actually tired of England. He’s asking how can people be? Good for him that he’s happy, but you really want him kicking against the pricks.

During ‘Come Closer’, and ‘Fault Lines’, things really go awry, both of them acoustic strums that threaten to derail the album.

‘Kicks of Consumption’, thankfully half rescues things, as the largely underused drummer Gary Powell returns, as does the snotty attitude. ‘Best Face’ is better still, as Barat positively snarls ‘Turn out the lights! I’ll give you sound advice, don’t you tell me any lies’, to a wayward girlfriend. It’s terrific stuff, and the best thing on here.

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