The Cribs – In the Belly of the Brazen Bull (2012)

The Cribs are finally back with their fifth studio album, In the Belly of the Brazen Bull. The anticipation has been enormous since Johnny Marr parted with the band after his work with them on their fourth album, Ignore the Ignorant. That sounded derogatory, but it wasn’t intended. I quite enjoyed his involvement with the Jarman brothers compared to some other fans who thought that The Cribs had slightly lost their way.

Nevertheless, any sort of negative speculation can be averted. In the Belly of the Brazen Bull sees the Wakefield trio bring back many raw elements from their early days, but with a boisterous sting. The album opens with ’Glitters Like Gold’, which is essentially a reassurance that the tracks ahead will see familiar catchy guitar riffs, chant-worth lyrics and undertones of a distorted growl that is carried throughout the record. You can tell that there’s more immersive substance to the creativity of the music compared to their early raw and sometimes drone-y indie rock of their first records. There’s an acoustic treat in there too, ’I Should Have Helped’, which makes way for an absolute belter of a four-track medley-esque thing, ending the whole record with a bang. Admittedly, on my first listen, I couldn’t really find a distinctive moment on the album apart from the brilliant singles we’ve already heard (‘Chi-Town’ and ‘Come On, Be a No-One’) and I’m still picking out the lyrics in places, but it has become an utterly fantastic grower. A new Cribs release is always a breath of fresh heavy indie-punk-rock air. The fierce album title is totally reflective of the tracks it holds together and I’m confident I’m going to be singing (shouting) along with it when I’ve learnt them. I love it.

In the Belly of the Brazen Bull by The Cribs is released on 07/05/12 by Wichita.