- Record Label: Interscope / Mercury
- Release Date: Aug 8, 2006
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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Punchy, ragged, and frenetic, Waterloo To Anywhere surges forward, not-so-subtly aping The Strokes, The Clash, and The Ramones as well as delivering that precise buzz that can only be felt by the young, drunk, and excited.
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Entertainment WeeklyThink of it as a spin through London's sordid nightlife, with Barat as your cynical, grumpy guide. [11 Aug 2006, p.69]
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Smart; savvy; insanely resilient: 'Waterloo To Anywhere' is just the ticket.
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UrbWhile the album is a fun first listen, it's in taking that second and third spin of Waterloo to Anywhere that the band's infectious quality becomes a full-fledged epidemic. [Sep 2006, p.142]
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Barat's music doesn't have the baggage associated with Doherty's brooding, poetic aspirations, but it doesn't quite have the same impact, either.
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Of course, it sounds ragged as all hell, but that was half of his old band's charm.
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Waterloo To Anywhere is more pro and muscular than former endeavours, chiming more with labelmates Razorlight’s ambitious professionalism.
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Barat does a great job of revitalising the ramshackle thrills that the Libertines did all too briefly so well.
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The fear was always that Dirty Pretty Things would resemble The Libertines with a vital ingredient missing, and that's surely what's transpired.
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For what it's worth, Waterloo goes round-for-round with Doherty's solo vehicle, but too much of its pop luster succumbs to could've/should've-been pathos, both lyrically and musically.
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This is an album of gin-fuelled laments, uprisings and battered beauty: such dignity and sharp proficiency shows he can only do better.
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In all its unfussy delights, it’s very nearly the great record that Babyshambles couldn’t quite get together.
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Although it's a top-heavy record, Waterloo to Anywhere gets stronger with each listen; the melodies come through and the energy that at first seems restrained starts to break free.
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MojoThis is the far meaner, angrier and punkier [of the two post-Libertines albums] [Jun 2006, p.98]
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A good old-fashioned mod-punk'n'roll record--nothing more, certainly nothing less.
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Unfortunately his slurry vocals are often mixed too low, and his world-weary bons mots are undermined by jaunty melodies and tempos.... But Mr. Barât packs an electrifying amount of rage and misery into 33 minutes of music.
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An exceptionally well-crafted punk record: catchy, noisy, beat-y, quick.
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With no foil to Barat’s grumpiness and bitterness, it’s therefore difficult to see anyone getting nearly excited enough to love Dirty Pretty Things as much as many loved The Libertines.
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There are flashes of inspiration and personal expression all over Waterloo To Anywhere, but too much of the record feels unfinished—and worse, one-note.
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It doesn't sound like a masterpiece; then again, it does nothing to damage its maker's reputation, which is more than you can say for Doherty's post-Libertines efforts.
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Waterloo To Anywhere might not redeploy any cultural guidelines, but take it at its own merits and you may be pleasantly surprised.
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UncutIt has more garage-rock energy than the enervated Babyshambles. [Jun 2006, p.98]
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Q MagazineA tough, focused, danceable album. [Jun 2006, p.113]
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BlenderBarat lacks Doherty's flash of unhinged genius, but his grasp of rock's basics is far firmer. [Sep 2006, p.139]
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Under The RadarEssentially, Dirty Pretty Things sound like a sober and well-rested version of The Libertines… which honestly takes somea little of the fun away. [#15]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 24 out of 33
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Mixed: 6 out of 33
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Negative: 3 out of 33
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Nov 24, 2011
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Apr 7, 2011
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OriI.Apr 1, 2008