IT is usually only American rap groups where the notorious personal history is better known than the actual music - not skinny guitar-playing blokes from London.

But, sadly, a lot of The Libertines' rise has been down to media fascination with the very public spectacle of Pete Doherty's out-of-control drug addiction.

Doherty, however, seems more a tragic Syd Barrett-esque drug casualty than a mad-for-it hellraiser. He is, sadly, barred from performing live with his own band - leaving creative partner Carl Barat onceto fly solo fronting a mediocre Libertines at last weekend's Carling Festival.

But a headline-grabbing heroin habit and a bucketload of hype does not a great band make, so you may well ask "what about the music"?

Well, in this case the two can't be separated - pretty much the whole album is a grippingly honest dialogue between Doherty and Barat about their troubled love-hate relationship.

But what is most surprising, given the turbulent circumstances of its recording, it finally sees The Libertines' music justify at least some of the attention heaped on them.

Yes, they are far from groundbreaking, with their quirky English songwriting and trad guitar sound-echoing bands from The Kinks to The Jam to The Smiths to Blur, but songs as good as Can't Stand Me Now and Music When The Lights Go Out have a unique, scruffy charm.

The band constantly sound on the edge of falling apart, but they always hold it together, while Doherty and Barat's vocals interplay with understated emotion and flashes of defiant humour.

The gritty, ramshackle production by ex-Clash guitarist Mick Jones fits these rough diamond songs perfectly.

It's an album which offers inspired glimpses of The Libertines' potential, but constantly dwells on the band's troubled present and uncertain future (especially regretful closing track What Became Of The Likely Lads).

The real-life drama and the music are inseparable, which is a shame, because there are songs here that could proudly stand alone if you had never read a word about the band.

You just hope the story has a happy ending.

Updated: 08:53 Thursday, September 02, 2004