Ex-Libertines Pete Doherty and Carl Barat may have gone their own ways, but the soap opera continues. While Doherty chose drug-fueled insanity and the release of a self-indulgent album with Babyshambles, Barat formed Dirty Pretty Things -- and on the basis of their debut, "Waterloo to Anywhere," they are The Libertines Mark II.
Every bit as great as The Libs' "Up the Bracket," the album destroys the notion that Barat was a mere foil to Doherty's genius and starts out as an all-out assault on poor Pete. Titles like "Deadwood" and "Doctors and Dealers" say it all, before Barat finally puts the gun to the back of Doherty's head on the speedy stomper "Bang Bang You're Dead," with the lines "I gave you the Midas touch/Oh, you turned around and scratched out my heart."
The pace rarely lets up, but when they do put on the brakes, you get arguably the best track, the anthemic, romantic "Wondering," with achingly beautiful guitar parts.
While Arctic Monkeys may be the flavor of the month, DPT might have delivered the album of the year.