I've never seen The Cribs live, but if I ever get the chance, I should probably take a crash helmet along with me. Reports abounded last week of various onstage hijinks, with a passed out singer in the moshpit, and a hospitalised bass player (blood poisoning apparently... yikes). Add to that talk of fights with security guards, and you have a recipe for a mess-sipy. Ahem.
The band have a new single coming out soon, and here's a live version of it. 'Don't You Want to be Relevant' (which isn't on their unwieldily titled new record) will be released with 'Our Bovine Public' sometime in the near future. The song, in its live form at least doesn't really sound all that good, but see what you think. Two more live tracks from the same gig are streaming at 6Music.
[download The Cribs - Don't You Want to be Relevant? (live)]
Tailor-made to suit men's needs
Never exist without being generic
Wakefield's very own Band of Brothers The Cribs have a new record out soon, with the unwieldy title 'Mens Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever'. I've never really got into the band too heavily, although the original version of their 'You're Gonna Lose Us' is a pre-gaming staple. (The re-record was a little too polished for my taste). The new record is not going to convert me to a die-hard, but it's still chock-full of great new songs that I'd love to see live (Main Stage at Lollapalooza!) because they're so damn energetic.
New single 'Men's Needs' and 'Our Bovine Public' rock especially hard, as do 'Ancient History' and 'My Life Flashed Before My Eyes'. The dual vocals between the two Jarmans that sing are punchy as usual, but the sound here is buoyed by Alex Kapranos' production. When they slow things down, like on 'I've Tried Everything' and especially sweet closer 'Shoot the Poets', they manage to pull it off well, too.
"I'm an indecisive piece of shit" they sing on 'I'm A Realist', and sure enough, there are a couple of weaklings, most notably 'Be Safe', where a solid chorus is undermined by a spoken-word lead from Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo. It's a bit naff. But for the most part, this is their solid-est record yet, spin the opener and enjoy the air drumming that will doubtless result.
[download The Cribs - Our Bovine Public]
[pre-order 'Mens Needs...']
