Dirty Pretty Things - Bang Bang You're Dead (Vertigo)
UK release date: 24 April 2006
And so here it is. After a lengthy wait, we're finally able to get our grubby mitts on some material Carl Barat has penned since the final implosion of The Libertines. Expectation has understandably been sky high, with every man and his cocker spaniel eager to have an opinion on the matter - the matter being the simple question: are Dirty Pretty Things as good as Barat's former group?
But to ask this is missing the point. Very few bands have what The Libertines did, namely an enviable chemistry between two front men and a fanatical following. So to compare DPT to them is somewhat unfair, especially when you consider that this new outfit is in fact one that has been enforced by Pete's instability.
The fact remains that Bang Bang You're Dead, with its trumpet fanfare of an introduction, choppy guitar stabs and a catchy-as-hell chorus, is a first rate rock tune, a damn fine debut single, up there with any band of the moment. And in the knowledge that Pete 'n' Carl aren't going to bury the hatchet any time soon, let's sit back and enjoy an exciting new band who have a lot to offer on their own accord by way of thrills.