''Up the Bracket'' is the debut album by English

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band

The Libertines The Libertines are an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, has also included John Hassall ...

, 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. The album's cover is based on an image of riot police squaring up to protesters during the Argentine economic crisis of 1999–2002.

Title

The title ''Up the Bracket'' alludes to a phrase used by English comedian

Tony Hancock Anthony John Hancock (12 May 1924 – 25 June 1968) was an English comedian and actor. High-profile during the 1950s and early 1960s, he had a major success with his BBC series ''Hancock's Half Hour'', first broadcast on radio from 1954, ...

, of whom the Libertines'

Pete Doherty Peter Doherty (born 12 March 1979) is an English musician, songwriter, actor, poet, writer, and artist. He is best known for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he formed with Carl Barât in 1997. His other musical projects are indie b ...

is an avid fan. In ''

Hancock's Half Hour ''Hancock's Half Hour'' was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy series, broadcast from 1954 to 1961 and written by Galton and Simpson, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sid James, Sidney James; the r ...

'', "Up The Bracket" is 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".

Release

The album was re-released on 8 September 2003 with an additional track, "

What a Waster "What a Waster" is the debut single by English rock band the Libertines. The song received little airplay because it contains frequent profanity. "What a Waster" was initially left off the UK edition of the band's debut album ''Up the Bracket'' ...

" and DVD featuring the promotional videos for the singles: "Up the Bracket", "Time for Heroes" and "I Get Along".

Reception

Upon release, ''Up the Bracket'' received generally favourable reviews. Online music magazine ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' placed ''Up the Bracket'' at number 138 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s, and it was placed 44 on a similar list by ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

''. ''NME'' placed the album tenth in a list of the greatest British albums ever, as well as calling it the second greatest album of the decade. NME also placed the album number 70 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' 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 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...

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.

Track listing

All songs written by

and

Carl Barât Carl Ashley Raphael Barât (; born 6 June 1978) is a British musician and actor, best known for being the co-frontman with Pete Doherty of the garage rock band The Libertines. He was the frontman and lead guitarist of Dirty Pretty Things, and ...

. # "Vertigo" – 2:37 # "Death on the Stairs" – 3:24 # "Horrorshow" – 2:34 # "

Time for Heroes "Time for Heroes" is a song by English rock band the Libertines, featured on their debut album ''Up the Bracket''. It was released on 13 January 2003 as the second single from that album, and reached No. 20 in the UK Singles Chart. The song is ...

" – 2:40 # "Boys in the Band" – 3:42 # "Radio America" – 3:44 # "

Up the Bracket ''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 ...

" – 2:40 # "Tell the King" – 3:22 # "The Boy Looked at Johnny" – 2:38 # "Begging" – 3:20 # "The Good Old Days" – 2:59 # " I Get Along" – 2:51 ;Bonus tracks *"What a Waster" is listed as track 13 on US, Canadian, Spanish, Japanese and UK reissue editions

Chart performance

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Up The Bracket 2002 debut albums The Libertines albums Rough Trade Records albums