aaamusic | On 04, Oct 2010

The first thing I want to say about Carl Barât’s debut album is that I really, really wanted to like it. Having always been a big fan of The Libertines it is generally my opinion that anything Doherty or Barât touch turns to gold but unfortunately that isn’t the case here.

It isn’t that the songs are bad per say; It is more that there is a lack of originality or spark behind them. It is a sad fact of life that anything Barât does will always be compared to the glory days that were The Libertines; this is only strengthened by the fact that this release comes on the back of the hugely successful festival slots at Reading and Leeds. One of the best things about the Libertines was the urgency behind their records, the way that the songs would work together in a way that built excitement about what might come next. It would even be fair to say that Dirty Pretty Things shared this characteristic in some of their best work. However, in his self titled debut Barât misses the mark. A lack of urgency can be excused; inducing boredom cannot.

My problem with the album is not that Barât has decided to take a change of direction; indeed I believe that this is something to be applauded. However, this change of genre from the glorious indie punk of his last two albums into this album of self reflective ballads just feels self indulgent. Carl Barât is a guitar musician; his vocals aren’t strong or sincere enough to be at the forefront of piano and orchestral music. Indeed, the female choir that is employed at several points throughout the album just feels like a trick as though it is meant to make the listener feel that Barât has achieved something here that he clearly has not.
The album starts off with “The Magus” which is probably the best track on the album. It sets the album in the realm of the theatrical and almost has an air of the avant garde around it with the use of mechanical sounds. It is almost the perfect opener for a concept album but that isn’t where this progresses to. Instead “Je Regrette, Je Regrette” sounds like a mix between Snow Patrol and Razorlight in the worst possible way. The lyrics on this particularlsong are especially cringeworthy with its forced rhymes and excessive repetitions; a theme that continues throughout the album. The only positive about this song is that it isn’t as boring as much of what comes after it.

“She’s Something” is another track that could have been exceptional but instead ends up being tossed into the average pile. The stripped down vocals and acoustic guitar gives the song a hint of introspection which is certainly a bonus. However, the extent to which the song has been stripped down gives it a feeling of being unfinished, like Barât really did “need more time.” That is the overwhelming feeling on listening to the album. There could have been a fantastic EP here but instead the songs that have been compiled seem to lack cohesion and the thematic continuity of lost love becomes tiresome.

“Run With The Boys” opens enthusiastically enough but only serves to enforce the point that any zip or electricity that runs through the album only gets beaten down by the severe dullness and monotony of Barât’s vocals which are so devoid of emotion that anything that he says seems both forced and false at the same time.

Barât himself has stated that he found writing this album “difficult” and it is my belief that this shows from just one listen to it. The songs feel like someone going through the motions of what should make a good song but just missing. By attempting to distance himself from his comfort zone, Barât has distanced himself from everything that gave him a spark as a songwriter in the first place.

Author: Josie Payne