Released:
Rating:
This is The Cribs being The Cribs, and The Cribs are still the best, 24-7-365.
Label: Sonic Blew
Released: 11th August 2017
Rating: ★★★★
The Cribs aren’t stupid. Well over a decade as one of the UK’s most consistently great bands means they know where their strengths lie, and it’s never been in flashy, slick sounds or carefully positioned radio sheen.
In fact, they’re at their best when such things are cast aside. It’s the strength of their debut album – practically perfect because of, not despite its limitations – that made the suggestion of a hook up with legendary ‘not-a-producer-but-a-man-who-records-bands’ Steve Albini make so much sense when first floated all those years ago. Now that it’s finally been realised, it sounds no less brilliant than it did in our mind’s eye. Or ear. You get the point.
In truth, ‘24-7 Rock Star Shit’ is a tongue in cheek title. This is The Cribs playing their strongest hand. Their pop sensibilities may be roughed up, but they’re still there. Even in the rage of ‘Year of Hate’, there’s still a hook line that’s stickier than super glue. The acoustic ‘Sticks Not Twigs’ shows that fuzz and noise isn’t a universal requirement, while ‘Rainbow Ridge’ is scrappy brilliance front to back. There may be a lack of that one immediate ‘obvious single’, but it seems churlish to complain. This is The Cribs being The Cribs, and The Cribs are still the best, 24-7-365. Stephen Ackroyd
