The Cribs – Selling A Vibe (PIAS) (13th Floor Album Review)
After a five-year hiatus bought on by the strain of touring, The Cribs are back with Selling A Vibe. The Jarman boys have produced yet another bold statement of indie rock brilliance in their ninth outing.
When The Cribs emerged on the scene circa 2002, they were applauded for their honest energy. They wanted to play their music and they didn’t care what others thought of them. And, their successes speak for themselves; critically acclaimed albums, playing alongside rock royalty, having their own Squire signature guitars, not to mention having Johnny Marr join their group for a short period. The three brothers have earned their stripes. But I suppose the real question is, have they kept them? Now living apart in three different time-zones, far away from their beginnings in a provincial town, are they still the genuine band that we all remember?
While their arguably considered greatest release Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever (one of my favourite albums) was some years ago, I was very excited to hear something brand new. From the first five notes of the opener Dark Luck, I could tell that even though I hadn’t followed the band through their most recent years (I will admit I wasn’t that impressed when they dropped that Christmas single All Year Long, but maybe that’s just because I’ve been called ‘The Grinch’ on multiple occasions), that this was still rooted in the sensibilities that made me enjoy them in the first place.
After a few innings away from the crease, the band spent time reforming their personal connections before hastily composing the material to keep it all anchored within a specific moment. Producer Patrick Wimberly (MGMT, Public Access T.V, and most interestingly; Beyoncé) has done a suitable job transferring the quickly written album to the studio. Nothing feels particularly over-produced, Never the Same captures the indie characteristics of music The Cribs were playing in the early stages of this millennium. Whereas the combination drum machines and 80s guitars kick off Rose Mist. The only thing I thought was perhaps a little questionable was the opera singer included in You’ll Tell Me Anything. Ironic as these guys refused handclaps in their emergent recordings, with the hope of ‘keeping things real’.
While firmly bound to the indie and punk stylings the band are famous for, Selling A Vibe gives us variation within its twelve tracks. Distractions dives into almost-doo-whop category. And the penultimate track, Looking for the Wrong Guy, is as close to a ballad as you are ever going to get from these guys (if you excuse Shoot the Poets).
As any fan of The Cribs will probably tell you, it’s not just the energy that makes these guys so great. They write extremely catchy songs! And there are no misses on Selling A Vibe. I found most tracks had a decent melodic hook. And of course, always sung in the genuine, honest baritone of either of the two twin frontmen. The lead single Summer Seizures should give anyone a good indication of what to expect on the album. They still have the catchy energy, even if they’ve aged a good twenty years since the days of Hey Scenesters!
Daniel Edmonds
Selling A Vibe is due January 9th via PIAS
