The Cribs - In the Belly of the Brazen Bull

Liana Gow-Killingbeck reviews the latest offering from The Cribs:

I’d been waiting for quite a while to get my paws on some fresh material by the English trio (and brothers), The Cribs. I’m pretty sure I played their previous record, Ignore the Ignorant, a little bit too much in the past because even my CD player got sick of it and decided to spit it out, craving something new. So you can’t really blame my ears for being rather overzealous as I began to listen to the band’s 5th studio album, In the Belly of the Brazen Bull.

With the loss of guitar legend Johnny Marr, this album is perhaps a little less impressive than its precursor, but still extremely head-bop worthy nonetheless - with a brilliant ending to boot - and it radiates an expected garage and lo-fi rock vibe that will undoubtedly be well received by the band’s loyal cluster of indie followers. The opening track Glitters Like Gold is catchy and fun, and will suck listeners in like a tasty chocolate milkshake through one of those radical twisted straws.

To be honest though, my interest started to wane after the first few songs, as I felt like I couldn’t really grasp onto something distinguishable. That’s until I heard Back to the Bolthole, which, with its punky heaviness, is definitely the standout track on the album. Then, immediately juxtaposed with the record's softest song, I Should Have Helped, I found myself responding rather emotionally, but in a good, gloomy sort of way.

To finish, The Cribs fused the final four tracks together to create a suite that left me feeling uplifted and, well, pretty darn satisfied. Though some may consider this closing to be a smidge longwinded, I appreciated the way the songs had been interwoven as I could clearly differentiate the feelings of each of them individually, as well as holistically. I could follow the flow of the music easily; the sharp marching drum beats of Stalagmites, through the harmonic dreaminess of Like a Gift Giver and Butterflies, to the ringing finality of Arena Rock Encore with Full Cast. Oh, delight!

The brothers even apologise for the lengthy time it took them to release this beastly album, as they chant “Sorry that it’s taken years” repeatedly in the last song. Well, apology accepted boys, because I believe In the Belly of the Brazen Bull was totally worth the wait.

Review by Liana Gow-Killingbeck. Have a look at her excellent fashion blog here.

The Cribs at Manning Bar, Sydney

THE CRIBS
BRIDEZILLA
Manning Bar, 19/02/10

Considering Bridezilla have been winning fans around the city over the past four years, it's somewhat surprising that this was their debut performance at Manning Bar. Less surprising was that their atmosphere-drenched show was enthralling. Most notable was frontwoman Holiday Carmen-Sparks' increasingly impressive vocal range. Balancing out their intense sound with plenty of smiles throughout, the Sydney quintet are clearly enjoying themselves at the moment, and well they might, as they remain one of the most captivating acts in Australia today.

The Cribs' dynamic has always been appealing; three brothers across drums, bass and guitar, with duelling lead vocals. So adding another guitarist would seem crazy, except when he happens to be a certain Johnny Marr. Regardless, it was going to be interesting to see whether it would be the same visceral, raucous Cribs experience.

Bursting into We Were Aborted, guitarist Ryan Jarman stooped over his mic, stomped his feet and spat lyrics as loud as he could in his strong Wakefield accent as veins popped out of his neck. With that, it was instantly clear that, while the addition of a member of indie royalty added to their depth of sound, it took nothing away from the Jarman brothers' insane live energy. The crowd, who had waited four years to see them, went nuts as Hey Scenesters and Cheat On Me provoked early singalongs. Indeed, there were few songs that weren't singalongs, as this set featured more infectious choruses than your average pop act could come up with in a lifetime, all delivered with shouty punk rock sensibilities. Every “whoa-oh” was hollered back at the band with increasing gusto, and, as Ryan questioned where all the crowd-surfers were, waves of bodies began to flow towards the stage.

The epic Be Safe offered an alternative to the punchy songs that surrounded it, featuring a video of Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo's spoken word prose as the band belted out another massive chorus, “I know a place we can go where you'll fall in love so hard that you'll wish you were dead.”

Ending with Men's Needs, City of Bugs and a spot of stage-diving, the quartet left the sweat-drenched crowd breathless. Even four albums in, The Cribs' raw energy and vivacity hasn't abated, and to combine that with tunes to die for is to be in the presence of one of the most thrilling live bands around.