Dirty Pretty Things Diverge from Libertines

The more collected of the two camps spawned from the turbulent Libertines, Dirty Pretty Things, has so far taken a back seat in the media while its loud, horrifying counterpart (Babyshambles) has flopped around in the spotlight like an epileptic fish. This situation is understandable, since the only way to get more attention than Pete Doherty is to jump on top of him. Nonetheless, while the “loud” band has wallowed in bar brawls, legal hassles and season tickets to the front page, the “quiet” band has created their second record, titled Romance at Short Notice, making moves to distinguish itself from its past by … gasp … growing.

As revealed in a recent conversation between The Independent and Dirty Pretty Things, front man and former Lib Carl Barat is digging deep into the art of lyric writing, even extracting never-before-heard elements of his childhood to put on the new album’s plate. Two songs off of Romance can adequately sum up the band’s present state – “Tired of England,” an in-depth portrait of the country and city (London) Barat loves, and “Hippy’s Son,” a look into Barat’s past that was called the most furious and revealing song Barat has ever written.

“Being autobiographical is new for me,” Barat told The Independent. “It was hard to sing, and hard to allow to come out. It felt scary. I spent ages trying to explain it to my parents.”

Romance at Short Notice hits shelves June 30, and I don’t know about you, but it will definitely be easy for me to explain the part of my autobiography where I shove past children and elderly to grab it as the stock guy is opening the box. Doherty and his rabblesome ways are charming, but I’m more than ready for a Barat-break. (And for those who have seen Trekkers, I mean that in an entirely un-creepy way.)