In a year where Arctic Monkeys have grown up, the three brothers from across Yorkshire have been joined by the ultimate elder statesman of indie music, Johnny Marr. Former member of The Smiths and executor of some of the greatest riffs the 80’s had to offer, Marr adds weight to The Cribs’ sometimes tinny sounds.
While this means Ignore the Ignorant lacks the instant appeal of previous albums, repeated listens offer a gateway into a style that is complimented rather than suffocated by the addition of a new guitarist.
Familiar rough vocals are evident in first single, Cheat On Me, while the grand opening from, We Share the Same Skies, illuminates the bands rise in stature.
No longer as raw and impassioned, The Cribs are still uncompromising in their love of contagious choruses, now taking their time, allowing words to float into the consciousness. This is highlighted by the wistful, Last Year’s Snow and the powerful and rangy, Nothing, while, City of Bugs adds yet more grandeur to proceedings.
Gently skipping away from the slightly more commercial sounding Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever, the new album is more of a return to their self-titled debut, but five years on, older, bigger and aided by the iconic Marr, maybe a little better.
Brilliant review. I'm going to do one soon, I was waiting for the album to sink in so I didn't write a rave review that I'd regret. But it has now, and I think I'm still going to press ahed with that rave review!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you mentioned the particular songs you did - 'We Share the Same Skies' is probably my favourite from the album, and I agree with the comment about loss of instant appeal, but still with good choruses, and complemented by Marr.
Nice one. :) KCKate on last.fm by the way.