Formed back in early 2002 in Wakefield‚ The Cribs‚ twin brothers Gary and Ryan and younger sibling Ross first came to light with their debut release ‘You & I’ , a split single with Jen Schande on the Leeds based indie Squirrel Records. Following their signing to Wichita Recordings in 2003, they enlisted the help of their friend Chicago singer/avant-garde musician Bobby Conn, to record demos for their eponymous debut, subsequently spending a week ensconced in London’s Toe Rag studio capturing the endearing energy of their live shows. Never ones to sit back‚ ‘The New Fellas’ followed in 2005, an altogether more vitriolic affair. The album broke new ground for the band providing them with several Top 40 singles including ‘Hey Scenesters’ ‚ a dig at the indie scene of the time and further backed with the chart success of the singles ‘Mirror Kissers’ and ‘Martell’ . 2007 saw Gary relocate to Portland, OR where upon a chance meeting with Johnny Marr resulted in the ex-Smith joining The Cribs in 2008 and work started in earnest on the band’s fourth album. ‘Ignore The Ignorant’ released in September 2009 became their first Top Ten album. After wrapping up touring duties for ‘Ignore The Ignorant’ with a triumphant Main Stage appearance at the Reading Festival, the band went their separate ways – Ryan collaborating with old compatriot Edwyn Collins, and then later turning producer for the Comet Gain album ‘The Howl Of The Lonely Crowd’. Gary meanwhile returned to Portland, and collaborated with ex-Grandaddy guitarist Jim Fairchild on his All Smiles project, and Ross home to Wakefield to undergo some spinal surgery and attendant rehabilitation. It was around this time that Johnny left the band, to work on his own solo project under The Healers name. Writing for ‘In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull’ began in November of 2010 when the band were on an unofficial break. The majority of the album was produced and recorded by Dave Fridmann, at his Tarbox Road Studios in upstate NY. It was Weezer’s 1996 ‘Pinkerton’ album and The Flaming Lips’ ‘Clouds Taste Metallic’ that initially attracted the band to Fridmann. The session yielded nine album tracks. Ryan’s songs are raw, fierce, punk sounding see ‘Back To The Bolthole’, ‘Jaded Youth’ and ‘Come On, Be A No-One’.“Back To The Bolthole’ was one of the first songs we wrote” says Ryan. “It was written in the motel room pictured on the front cover of the record and while I can see that it’s quite dark and heavy, the chorus is supposed to be life affirming. There was this realisation that came to me, that you can’t worry about stuff because everyone is going to die in the long run and that doesn’t bother me at all, and when I realised it doesn’t bother me, it was like a weight off my shoulders, it was like reverting back to the naivety of a child.” The album closes with perhaps the most ambitious work they’ve done to date. A four song suite: ‘Stalagmites’/ ‘Like A Gift Giver’/ ‘Butterflies’/ ‘Arena Rock Encore with Full Cast’. The album closer ‘Arena Rock Encore with Full Cast’ is firmly, as the title implies, tongue in cheek. “So many bands, that’s the aim, to get to the arena. When did that become the standard goal, or even a tangible concept for an indie rock band?” asks Ryan. Of course The Cribs aren’t trying to be an arena band, they just want to make another great record and ‘In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull’ is unequivocally a great record. They must be very proud. “I just want every record to do better than the last one” says Ryan “so more and more people get to hear us and hopefully understand us, that’s always the main goal with our records, for people to understand us.” For Gary the aim is to simply “make a better record each time” and he says, “I’m really pleased with this one.” We know you will be too. ‘In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull’ is released on 7th May through Wichita Recordings
