Formed by three young brothers from West Yorkshire with a penchant for scuzzy guitars and sneaky melodies, the first thing you ask yourself about The Cribs is this: does the world really need another post-Strokes ‘The’ band? And besides, hasn’t the whole ‘siblings united in rock’ thing already been done by The Kings of Leon, the Fiery Furnaces, The White Stripes and loads of others?
Well, if 33 minutes of simple, poppy, dirty lo-fi brilliance sounds like your kind of thing then you just might be tempted to make room for this particular band of brothers. The Cribs is for the most part a thrilling debut, making up for what it lacks in originality with sheer nerve, verve and that hungry, joyful enthusiasm you only ever seem to find on first albums.
Toerag Studios has become as famous as any producer since Jack and Meg used its old fashioned valve equipment to fashion the sound on Elephant, and this album (partly produced by band hero and touring partner Bobby Conn) similarly revels in a lo-fi production style which makes the choruses on songs like ‘The Lights Went Out’ and ‘Another Number’ burst through all the brighter.
‘You Were Always the One’ and ‘What About Me’ are uncluttered Indie-pop songs that rock in their simplicity but are packed full of melody and droll lyrics (“And I know that don’t always pick up the phone, and I know you might see me with someone else, but you are always the one”) which highlight their ability to fashion classic-sounding choruses out of simple ideas and unfussy arrangements. ‘Another Number’ builds a full song around a simple high-necked lead hook, again bursting with ‘Baba-badahdah’ and ‘Ohh-whoa-oh’ backing vocals that always look kind of stupid when you try to describe them in print. ‘Baby Don’t Sweat’ and ‘Direction’ display a punkier side, rocking with an untidy enthusiasm.
The most obvious reference points here however remain The Strokes and classic English guitar pop of The Libertines. ‘Things You Should Be Knowing’ in particular sounds like a pre ‘Is This It’? Strokes demo, right down to robbing the Casablancas croon from ‘Someday’ just a little too blatantly. It’s when they stick to their own approach that they show they’ve got the spirit and the tunes to win out. No spare cribs, these guys…