Their third album Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever is where they upped the ante and got it right, enlisting Franz Ferdinand‘s Alex Kapranos to add more precise chart-oriented production values to The Cribs staccato riffing and blazing approach, but the key thing for me is Kapranos doesn’t knock ALL the corners off – it still sounds itchy, it stings, it bites. It’s spot on.

The album surges out of the traps with the scenester-bashing Our Bovine Public, and on through Girls Like Mystery and Men’s Needs: propulsive choppy guitar, terrific sing-along call-and-response lines, bouncing drumbeats. I’m A Realist has my favourite lyric of the noughties (“I’m a realist, I’m a romantic … I’m an indecisive piece of sh*t”). More fluid riffing on My Life Flashed Before My Eyes, a rumbling bass announcing Women’s Needs: there’s a terrific momentum through the core of this record.

The first real shock is a shuddering anti-consumer spoken word screed, voiced by Lee Ranaldo from Sonic Youth over the Cribs’ full-throated entreaty to Be Safe, then the blistering assault of Ancient History dissolves into a raging coda which references a 60s British cinematic classic. Another surprise: the album closes with a thoughtful acoustic bookend called Shoot The Poets.

Not one song outstays its welcome, the timing and sequencing is perfect. I’ve never skipped a track – I doubt a better collection of songs has been issued in the last five years. Yup, I realise that’s quite a claim, and I wouldn’t have made it the first time I listened to this record, but how it has grown on me. One of my modern classics.

Check the links in these comments for some fine video. Pop on over to YouTube and watch Moving Pictures.

P.S. I could have just as easily written about: Cabaret Voltaire and the album The Original Sound Of Sheffield 78/82

Wonder what D will be?

The new album? Layered, rock-y.. too much, for me. Too dense. Too complex.

But a legend is a legend, so we popped along to the Juice Bar at the Windsor in Parnell to get a blast of the new Cribs experience, to see if it all made more sense.

A false start: we were driven from the venue by the execrable yowling of Bandicoot. Yup, I know Pearl is Don McGlashan‘s kid. I know they’re young. It’s OK to be arch and fey and chaotic. But learn how to play first, then un-learn it. I got the impression they’d just met each other and their instruments. Not good.

A quick sparkling burst of Collapsing Cities, and then on to the main event, hampered by stuffy sound (please god I should go to a gig in Auckland with a decent PA.. one day it may happen but in the meantime, Kiwi soundmen, sharpen up your act or I’ll be pushing you off the mixing desk and doing it myself). The Cribs were fiery and committed, and they put everything into it, and Ryan’s mic stand gets ever shorter.. but the old songs came over by far the best, even ‘Hey, Scenesters’. And that was a shame, because I like the Jarmans and I want more great music from them.

But linking up with an ex-Smith is a detour down a one way street. Turn around, guys. More songs like this, please:

By way of a warm up for the events to come, I had the great good fortune to hit a record industry promo at Dimples karaoke bar in Burbank last night.. Wakefield’s own The Cribs thumping out a great set, plenty of sweat and a bit of blood too, no tears though, all smiles. Any band that uses Orange amps is fine by me. Nice one, lads!

Here’s a bit of Cribs video – Men’s Needs

My guide Bronson and I then popped over to Spaceland in Silverlake for Club NME.. managed to sneak a beer and hear a little of headliners Illinois before we expired. Meh.

Dunno how frequent my updates from the festival will be but I’ll give you the full monty whenever possible. Stay tuned.