Indie stalwarts The Cribs have returned with their ninth studio album, 'Selling a Vibe', a record that masterfully balances the bitter wisdom of experience with the punchy energy that has defined their 22-year career. Produced by Patrick Wimberly, the album refines their iconic sound without losing its essential character.
A Band Apart From The Scene
The Cribs' unique position within the UK's indie landscape has always been one of slight detachment. As highlighted in a recent BBC podcast, 'The Rise and Fall of Indie Sleaze', their 2005 single 'Hey Scenesters!' was less a celebration of the mid-00s 'New Rock Revolution' and more a satirical poke at it. While peers like Razorlight and Kaiser Chiefs chased mainstream success, The Cribs, comprising brothers Ryan, Ross, and Gary Jarman, aligned themselves with a purer, pre-Britpop indie ethos.
This philosophy was endorsed by collaborators from Johnny Marr and Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo to producer Steve Albini. Their commitment to artistic freedom over commercial frenzy has served them well, allowing them to sustain a career and secure Top 10 albums long after the indie-rock vogue of the 2000s faded.
Songs Forged in Experience
'Selling a Vibe' is unmistakably the work of a band who have dug in for the long haul. The lyrics are shot through with rueful reflection on the past. The title track and 'You’ll Tell Me Anything' reference a draining legal battle to reclaim the rights to their first five albums. Meanwhile, tracks like 'Summer Seizures' and 'Looking for the Wrong Guy' grapple with lost innocence, the former declaring "the good times never last" and the latter pondering the "folly of youth".
Yet, there is no sense of defeat. Instead, the album projects a hard-won confidence. The song 'Self Respect' offers a telling lyric: "A cash injection, a nasty infection – don’t regret it." It's the sound of a band battered but unbowed, content with their cult status and creative autonomy.
A Confident, Streamlined Sound
Musically, the album won't shock long-time fans but reveals a band in complete command of their craft. The distorted guitars and sharp songwriting remain, but Wimberly's production brings a subtle 80s pop sheen to tracks like 'A Point Too Hard to Make' and introduces a drum machine pulse on 'Rose Mist'. The result is a more streamlined sound than its predecessor, 2020's 'Night Network'.
The true triumph of 'Selling a Vibe' is its uniformly powerful songwriting. The melodies soar, the choruses hit with precision, and the album maintains a perfect balance—never slick or overworked, yet faultlessly executed. As the closing track 'Brothers Won’t Break' asserts, this is a band holding the line: "After all this time holding the line, we weren’t ever going to leave it … we’ll keep it from an honest place." Twenty-two years in, The Cribs sound both durable and happy with their lot.
