Review Summary: The Cribs show a marked improvement in songcraft with a little help from Uncle Marr.
The Cribs have always tried desperately hard to cultivate the image that they aren't trying desperately hard. On their previous effort Men's needs, Women's Needs, Whatever they preached "I've never been impressed by your friends from New York and London", whilst on breakthrough record The New Fellas they bemoaned “scenesters” within the musical community. Guitarist/vocalist Ryan Jarman promptly shacked up with Kate Nash. Ok, so they might not have been falling out of soho clubs at 3 A.M. with powdered nostrils and supermodels in tow * la John Taylor, but brothers Gary and Ross might as well have simultaneously stepped out with Lily Allen and Peaches Geldof. As if to redress the credibility balance, which presumably they themselves had adjudicated on, the brothers Jarmans took the only action possible: recruit such a venerated 'indie' figure, oozing understated cool, that any relationship based faux pas would be forgotten. Enter ex-Smith and recent mercenary style hired guitar hand Johnny Marr. Presumably the fact that Marr was not from New York or London sealed his swift entrance into the Jarman fold.
Perhaps unfairly for the Cribs, their own slightly charicatured don't-give-a-*** hubris has made it easy to be cynical about them. However, despite what motivations might have been behind the recruitment of Marr (you can't really imagine them recruiting the aid of an ex-Menswear member, even if he were the world's best guitarist), the move has certainly made an appreciable difference to their musical output; this is the Cribs most pleasing effort yet. The record comes to life when Marr’s influence comes to the forefront, most notably on ‘We Share the Same Skies’ and on the slightly less effective ‘Last Year’s Snow’, which both feature the same jangly picked arpeggios which permeated Marr’s work with The Smiths.
Elsewhere Marr’s influence may well be simply that of focussing the Jarmans’ evident songwriting abilities, helping to lift several tracks beyond Cribs-by-numbers. For instance, punky opener ‘We Were Aborted’ and catchy single ‘Cheat on Me’ benefit from quieter, atmospheric verses permeated with snake-like guitar insertions, augmenting their respective vitriolic choruses. Credit must also go to producer Nick Launay for this transformation, as he displays a similar kind of sharp but ghostly scene setting on these tracks as is evident in his work with the Arcade Fire and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. This sense of sonic dynamism which often the Cribs have hitherto lacked is best displayed on standout track City of Bugs, whose verses stalk the ear with an air of impending menace before exploding into a series of satisfying crescendos. This track alone displays a development in the Cribs songwriting – especially when juxtaposed against previous efforts in this vein, such as the clumsy ‘Be Safe’ from Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever – and should really have been chosen as the album closer as a statement of further intent.
Unfortunately, whilst Marr’s presence has undoubtedly had a positive influence on the Cribs’ tunesmanship it can’t paper over the cracks of the Jarmans’ respective voices, especially main singer Gary’s, which increasingly grates as the album progresses. Whilst his own voice is not especially strong, brother Ryan’s occasional vocals provide some welcome respite, and will perhaps encourage him to take up more vocal duties in the future. Furthermore, the album does (as is so often the case) tail off somewhat in its second half, particularly on forgettable efforts such as ‘Save Your Secrets’ and ‘Victim of Mass Production’, the latter of which sounds rather unfortunately like the theme tune to Aussie soap Home and Away. Final track ‘Stick to Yr Guns’ aims at the sort of louche-sounding waltz that Pulp were very good at, but neither Jarman has the vocal subtlety to pull it off, and it ends up sounding dull and repetitive, with a lazy lyric.
However, these not insignificant quibbles aside, this is on the whole a rather enjoyable record. The greater variety afforded the brothers Jarman by Johnny Marr’s involvement is put to good effect, displaying some fresh ideas and resulting in several of their best compositions. Now if the Cribs can just bring themselves to admit they are trying, they may end up not trying too hard, and should continue to improve.
