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Since their self-titled debut in 2004, few bands have possessed The Cribs‘ blend of rogue spirit and instant likeability. Main vocalist Ryan Jarman knows how to coat his punky inflections with a layer of confident tunefulness like his brethren in Art Brut and The Rakes, and the group’s spiky guitars are never so sharp as to slice listeners’ ears. On November 10th (September 7th in the U.K.), The Cribs will release their fourth full-length, Ignore the Ignorant, and as “We Were Aborted” illustrates, the band has become increasingly comfortable with the practice of enriching their songs with a fuller production aesthetic.
From its opening strums, “We Were Aborted” offers a more closely curated take on their music. Guitars bounce back and forth with newfound mass, the feedback even seemingly modulated to stay in key. However, it’s easy to find The Cribs’ bleeding heart still panting beneath the patina of refined production. They aren’t a band that has ever needed to hide behind lower levels of fidelity: their hooks are gigantic enough to sideswipe an eighteen wheeler, and even if they weren’t, Jarman’s bravado would likely carry the band most of the way. When they lay into a line like “That’s what they’re here for / To make you feel important / Because you knew we were aborted,” it doesn’t matter that the lyric doesn’t really make sense–you’ll want to sing along regardless.
A valid knock on The Cribs is that (production tweaking aside) they haven’t really developed their sound much over the years, but when you can muster bluster like they do, there’s something to be said for sticking to what one does best. It’s worth noting that the songs on Ignore the Ignorant are the first to feature new full-time member Johnny Marr (yes, that Johnny Marr), who rather inconspicuously adds a new layer to the guitar work. “We Were Aborted” is the latest anthem from a band that knows how to crank them out and will leave their fans eagerly awaiting their fourth LP.
(25 votes, average: 7.16 out of 10)
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August 28th, 2009 at 9:39 am
From a musicians standpoint the band is really tight, and super catchy. The opening of the song sounded a bit muddled to me at first but I warmed up to the song 30 sec in and loved it! Well done mates.
September 26th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
Incredibly unoriginal. I don’t understand why Johnny Marr would want to lend his talents to this band.
November 9th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Because of this post (which I found searching the “guitar-drive” tag) I spent the last couple hours listening to their songs and watching their videos. Your review is really great – they “muster bluster” like no one else – maybe you have to see the vidoes – but this is a band that carries the spirit of what’s it’s like to be 19 years old in 2009 better than anyone I know. that’s what I think @eden above is missing – it’s partly about this song, and partly about the way they play it.
also, marr’s contributions here are sly – but a huge difference from the previous albums. the more production pays off – I’ll take my black jacket and get drunk to see these guys in new york in december.
November 9th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Nice feedback, @miggsD.
Make sure you check out the interview segments with Ross Jarman of The Cribs on our November 2009 installment of The Hidden Track podcast: http://one-track-mind.com/the-hidden-track-november-2009/
In it, Jarman talks about how the Marr membership came about and what that experience has been like, among other things.
November 9th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
listened and loved. thank you