The Libertines' first new material for a year finds them in a similar position to the one they were in when "Don't Look Back Into The Sun" was released. Pete's out of the band, the chart positions keep climbing, Carl's still defiantly holding on in the desperate hope that things get better. The painful reality in the lyrics that a lovelorn Carl and an increasingly wasted sounding Pete fire back and forth at each other is there for all to see and it contains some of the most heard rending handclaps ever to grace a No.2 pop record. Lovely tune as well.

On the flipside, "Never Never" is decent enough but it was always a B-side, but over on the other CD (yeah, double-format CD, tell me about it), "Dilly Boys" has a bit more meat on the bones and the deliciously messy Clash-do-reggae of "Cyclops" is great. -Ian Martin, Sep.04.04.

Can't Stand Me Now