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UK's Cribs stick with proper pop
THE CRIBS: IGNORE THE IGNORANT (WARNER BROS.) **1/2
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Published: October 29, 2009
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British bands and hype go together like fish and chips. Yorkshire's The Cribs, however, have so far avoided the overheated press that accompanied Oasis, The Libertines, Arctic Monkeys, etc.
That's fitting, because there's something determinedly modest about The Cribs, a band that worships American and British indie acts and models itself on its DIY elders, aside from the Warner Bros. contract, apparently.
"Ignore the Ignorant" doesn't veer far stylistically from The Cribs' previous outing, 2007's "Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever." That's a little surprising given that ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr has joined the Jarman Brothers (singer-guitarist Ryan, singer-bassist Gary and drummer Ross). If there are a ton of overdubs here, it doesn't sound like it, although most songs have a pair of distinct guitar parts.
Marr's greater influence -- besides the title track, which bears more than a passing resemblance to The Smiths' "Panic" -- may have been in tightening the arrangements, propelling the songs forward and emphasizing the hooks without glossing over the band's essential rawness.
"Ignore the Ignorant" isn't earth-shattering stuff, but it's a relief to hear a British band playing proper guitar-pop rather than the spindly, bloodless post-punk retreads that have been its primary export in recent years.
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