There a few bands of whom I can say that I've adored every single song on every single album, but the Cribs have always been one of them. Since their last two albums, Ignore the Ignorant and In the Belly of the Brazen Bull, have been their best, I had extremely high expectations for their new release For All My Sisters. The Cribs have been around since the early 2000s and their output has been uniformly stellar, if a little uniform. They have an energy and enthusiasm that is not only infectious but that I find almost life-affirming in its hopefulness and irrepressability. I missed seeing them live in the UK, but saw them at a tiny venue in Pontiac, Michigan in 2012 and even in that miniscule dump with a small and confused audience, they were explosive and euphoric, and it's remained one of the best concerts I have ever attended. The Cribs are also remarkable for having some of the coolest guest appearances ever, most notably Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth on 'Be Safe' and of course Johnny Marr on Ignore the Ignorant.
So perhaps it was the sky-high expectations that let me down in terms of the new album. The band had promised that this album would be more 'pop', but it is actually just a less sparkling return to their early sound on the first two albums. It's a good album, but it's no Ignore the Ignorant, which was a fantastic mess of unforgettable hooks, Marr's signature luxuriant guitar, punkish harmonies, and raw emotion; or In the Belly of the Brazen Bull, filled with such anger, fire, and catchy melodies as to be anthemic. For All My Sisters is the Cribs being the Cribs, but we've seen them be the Cribs better.
Probably the most typical Cribs song (and the best) is 'Different Angle', which could just as easily have been on the first album. It has the bubbly, dance-y sound of 'Mirror Kissers' and the trademark jaded chorus ('if you look at me from a different angle/do you see something that you just can't handle?') augmented by harmonies and is satisfyingly catchy and vivacious. Other routine Cribs fare is 'Mr. Wrong', 'Burning for No One', and 'Diamond Girl'. The Cribs' slower songs have always been hit or dangerously-close-to-miss ('Stick to Yr Guns' was a moody, swirling masterpiece while 'It Was Only Love' was a bit weak). The dragging 'Pink Snow', the last song on the new album, certainly leaves a bitter taste in my mouth; it's overlong, makes no sense, and doesn't have a strong melody. Same for the acoustic 'Simple Story'; Ryan Jarman rambles pointlessly in a roughened voice with less than his usual poetic punk sensibility, lost amid confused metaphors of dogs and wolves and moons. Many of the songs (most notably 'Spring on Broadway') are simply pointless and directionless and lack the band's usual degree of fervour and many feel very formulaic ('An Ivory Hand' and 'Pacific Time' specifically).
In general, I would say that I liked it, but didn't love it. A lot feels obligatory. But I still found myself walking around with the chorus to 'Mr. Wrong' ('all along I was always Mr. Wrong/But I want you to believe that it's alright/I believe that it's alright when we met') or 'Diamond Girl' ('Sometimes I wonder if I got you wrong/You don't have to agree/We're not as straight as you want us to be) playing irresistibly in my head. It can still muster up the energy and excitement of the earlier albums, it still has the spirit (or most of it anyways). But having heard the likes of 'Victims of Mass Production', 'Cheat on Me', and 'Come On, Be a No-One', I can't help comparing this album to the band's former glories and finding it wanting, kind of late to the party. Hopefully, their next album (supposed to be released later this year), which has been promised to be more of a punk creation, will be better. If not, I'd say it's time for the Cribs to call it a day.
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