Up the Bracket

Up the Bracket
Studio album by The Libertines
Released 14 October 2002
Recorded August 2002, RAK, London
Genre Garage rock revival, indie rock
Length 36:33
Label Rough Trade
Producer Mick Jones
The Libertines chronology
Up the Bracket
(2002)		 The Libertines
(2004)
Singles from Up the Bracket
  1. "Up the Bracket"
    Released: 30 September 2002
  2. "Time for Heroes"
    Released: 13 January 2003

Up the Bracket is the debut album by English indie rock band The Libertines, released in October 2002. It reached #35 in the UK Albums Chart. The album was part of a resurgence for the British indie/alternative scene and received widespread praise from critics and has quickly become considered one of the greatest albums of the 2000s.[1]

The album's cover is based on an image of rioting during the Argentine economic crisis of 1999–2002.

Title

The title Up the Bracket alludes to a phrase used by English comedian Tony Hancock in Hancock's Half Hour, a slang term meaning a punch in the throat. Hancock is also referenced in the opening track, "Vertigo" – "lead pipes, your fortune's made", being a line from the Half Hour episode "The Poetry Society". Pete Doherty is known to be a lifelong fan of Hancock and a member of the Tony Hancock Appreciation Society, as well as featuring on a BBC documentary about him.[2]

Release

The album was re-released on 8 September 2003 with an additional track, "What a Waster" and DVD featuring the promotional videos for the singles: "Up the Bracket", "Time for Heroes" and "I Get Along".

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Blender[5]
Entertainment WeeklyA–[6]
The Guardian[7]
Pitchfork Media8.5/10[8]
Q[9]
Rolling Stone[10]
SpinA[11]
Sputnikmusic4.5/5[12]
The Village VoiceA[13]

Upon release, Up the Bracket received universal acclaim and praise. Online music magazine Pitchfork Media placed Up the Bracket at number 138 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s,[1] and it was placed 44 on a similar list by Uncut.[14] NME placed the album tenth in a list of the greatest British albums ever,[15] as well as calling it the second greatest album of the decade.[16] NME also placed the album number 70 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Rolling Stone placed the album number 61 on its list of the 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time and number 94 on its list of the 100 Greatest Albums of the 2000s.

In April 2008, BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe chose the album as one of his Masterpieces, playing the album in full with interviews from the band members, fans and fellow musicians who were influenced by the album.[17]

Track listing

All songs written by Pete Doherty and Carl Barât.

  1. "Vertigo" – 2:37
  2. "Death on the Stairs" – 3:24
  3. "Horrorshow" – 2:34
  4. "Time for Heroes" – 2:40
  5. "Boys in the Band" – 3:42
  6. "Radio America" – 3:44
  7. "Up the Bracket" – 2:40
  8. "Tell the King" – 3:22
  9. "The Boy Looked at Johnny" – 2:38
  10. "Begging" – 3:20
  11. "The Good Old Days" – 2:59
  12. "I Get Along" – 2:51
Bonus tracks

Chart performance

Charts (2002) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart 35
French Albums Chart 120
Japan Albums Chart 49
Swedish Albums Chart 59
US Top Heatseekers 13

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 200–151". Pitchfork Media. 28 September 2009. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
  2. ↑ Doherty, Jacqueline (27 August 2006). "Pete Doherty's mum reveals her son's softer side". Daily Mail. Retrieved 29 August 2006.
  3. ↑ "Reviews for Up The Bracket by The Libertines". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  4. ↑ Phares, Heather. "Up the Bracket – The Libertines". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  5. ↑ Pemberton, Andy (April 2003). "The Libertines: Up the Bracket". Blender (15): 124. Archived from the original on 3 February 2010. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  6. ↑ Brunner, Rob (29 November 2002). "What's Rocking Our World". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  7. ↑ Simpson, Dave (18 October 2002). "The Libertines: Up the Bracket". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  8. ↑ Carr, Eric (5 January 2003). "The Libertines: Up the Bracket". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  9. ↑ Grundy, Gareth (December 2002). "The Libertines: Up the Bracket". Q (197): 103.
  10. ↑ "The Libertines: Up The Bracket". Rolling Stone. 11 March 2003. Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  11. ↑ Klosterman, Chuck (May 2003). "The Libertines: Up the Bracket". Spin 19 (5): 109. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  12. ↑ Thornburgh, Ben (6 August 2014). "The Libertines – Up The Bracket". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  13. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1 April 2003). "Consumer Guide: As Long As I Still Can". The Village Voice. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  14. ↑
  15. ↑ "NME's best British album of all time revealed". NME. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
  16. ↑ "NME's The Top 100 Greatest Albums of The Decade". NME. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
  17. ↑
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