Let It Reign
Cooking Vinyl
If you’re thinking an album with ‘and the Jackals’ would be a swashbuckling and debaucherous affair then you’d be pretty much spot on. For the uninitiated, Carl Barat is best known as being the less controversial songwriting partner and fellow frontman of Pete Doherty in the now reformed The Libertines.
In the numerous years since The Libertines broke up back in 2004, Barat launched his own band Dirty Pretty Things, who released two swaggering albums before breaking up in 2008, prompting Barat to release a solo album in 2010. Now he arrives back on the scene with the suffix ‘The Jackals’ and a new slew of tunes in tow on Let It Reign.
The first few bars of opening track Glory Days feel slightly messy, but after a short while the haphazard style of Barat and his Jackals grows on you substantially. The track is eerily reminiscent of some of the tracks on the soundtrack to Russell Brand’s 2010 comedy flick Get Him To The Greek, in particular, the song Gang Of Lust. Upon further research this is perfectly forgivable as Barat was the sole writer credited on that song.
Summer In The Trenches is a frantic number that like many of the tracks has a distinctive ‘60s feel. Barat and the gang take the mood down somewhat and show off their versatility on Beginning To See, the closest thing to a ballad on the record.
If early 2000’s Britpop with a bit of attitude was your thing, you’ll lap this right up.
3 stars
ALEXANDER CROWDEN
