CHAOTIC, drug-riddled debauchery - and that's just the album!

he Libertines debut smashes with all the subtlety of a sledge-hammer through glass. Angry, raw but energetic, Up The Bracket arrogantly wears the "best new band in Britain" tag, injecting a fusion of everything that punk rock ought to be with melody and instantly catchy riffs.

The result of ten months of on-the-road mayhem, it sounds like it was recorded in the back of the van that takes them to gig.

Blasting off with the riotous Vertigo, Up The Bracket doesn't just attack the senses, it takes them outside and punches them in the face.

The only criticisms are the mysterious omission of the first single, You're A Waster and the awful Radio America, minor blips on an otherwise superb start.

Updated: 11:01 Thursday, November 07, 2002