Waterloo To Anywhere was the debut album from the short-lived, briefly adored Dirty Pretty Things. Originally released on Vertigo Records in May 2006, the album reached No. 3 in the UK charts and spawned three Top 40 singles. What do you do after being in the Libertines, one of the most notorious British bands of the early 21st Century? For Carl Barât, you form Dirty Pretty Things, something of an indie supergroup of their moment. Joining Barât was Libertines drummer Gary Powell, guitarist Anthony Rossomando (who'd stood in for Pete Doherty), and former Cooper Temple Clause bassist, Didz Hammond. Leading Waterloo To Anywhere was the infectious UK Top 5 hit "Bang Bang You're Dead" (better known in recent years as a live favorite for The Mighty Olafs), which set the tone for the fabulous collection of rock, punk, and ska. Recorded in Los Angeles with producer Dave Sardy and then later in Glasgow with Tony Doogan, the album showed the strength of the group's writing. Away from the standard high-octane indie of "Gin & Milk" and "You F*cking Love It," "The Gentry Cove" was particularly captivating, marrying Barât's fascinating wordplay with robust Clash reggae/sea shanty interludes. Two years later, it was all over; Barât and Powell rejoined the Libertines (and Rossomando later going on to win an Oscar for co-writing "Shallow" from the film A Star Is Born).
