If you heard a giant mechanical groan from the music industry recently, it might be from The Libertines. Because of Up the Bracket, the debut album from these London-based garage rockers, the hype machine is about to kick into full gear.

An album that is absolutely peppered with riotous energy, Up the Bracket vaults The Libertines nearly to the top of the trendy garage rock heap. The band blends the snide demeanor of The Kinks with the raging punk eclecticism of The Clash to create an absolute gem of a first album. In fact, former Clash guitarist Mick Jones produced the album, and there are pictures of him all over the liner notes to prove it.

On most songs, the music skips, bounces and plods along sloppily while the vocal melodies come through remarkably clearly. "Boys In the Band" contains an instantly catchy, dirty guitar riff that somehow becomes the kind of song you can't stop singing. The catchy, punky feel continues with other songs such as "Horrowshow," "Up the Bracket" and "I Get Along." All of the fast songs are excellent, but it's when the band shifts gears and displays a more diverse sound, they begin to seem like the garage rock band that might be around for awhile.

"Radio America" is a slow, twisty song littered with soft music and layered vocals that serves as an excellent bridge between two punkier songs. "The Good Old Days" sounds almost like a modern rock song. It starts slowly and builds into a frenzied, hummable chorus only to quiet back down again during the next verse.

Every song on Up the Bracket is in some way interesting and different from the one before it. Somewhere Joe Strummer is pumping his fist and smiling.

-- Reviewed by Reid Coploff