The Cribs have released their highly anticipated 6th studio album, ‘For All My Sisters’, made with perhaps the biggest producer of their career so far in Ric Ocasek (The Cars). But does the final product live up to its billing?
Having reached the top 10 on their last two efforts, this one starts off a tad one-paced on first listen. It’s more of the same with sweet indie pop brushed with American Alternative buzzing guitars and ‘ooh ooh’ backing vocals decorating the melodies without really saying much.
However, repeated listens peel away the layers and different levels are revealed with more depth, and an apparent yearning for departed youth. Recorded in New York and Wakefield the sound eventually winds out as doggedly British. The songs are mostly short with wistful thinking never too far from centre stage.
‘For all my sisters’ was released in March on the Red UK label.
In no time at all I realise I’m halfway through the album, the songs having blasted thick and heavy, each with its own character yet blurring into one bigger beast. Having previously read that this was going to be their big pop album there’s no denying the truth in that statement. The Jarman boys have achieved a melee of the best pop ideas from the last 30 years, some borrowed and some reinvented, yet the feel remains stridently post punk and rough edged.
Unsurprisingly New York is referenced heavily in the lyrics, ‘Simple Story” the most telling with a DIY New York indie vibe and a real slow burner. ‘City Storms’ is a rare track that I feel outstays its welcome with an awkward fade out, sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. Thankfully it’s followed immediately by the perfect glam intro of ‘Pacific Time’ that sounds a little more like their previous work.
Truth be told, it’s an album that needs to be heard and not read about. It’s not a treat for your hi-fi but more of a wake up call to your ears just like most of The Cribs’ albums are. It might not be their best album but like all the others it demands your attention, maybe for different reasons this time thanks to its more matured and reflective tone.
Author – Ian, Romford store
