ALBUM REVIEW: The Cribs "For All My Sisters"

With the presence of Johnny Marr now feeling like a distant daydream, The Cribs have certainly come a long way. But with the release of ‘For All My Sisters’, it’s incredibly clear that the Jarman band of brothers have truly found their niche.

With riffs that hark back to the likes of ‘Glitters Like Gold‘, opening track ‘Finally Free’ is a guitar anthem to truly sink your teeth into. Yet this track and its successor, ‘Different Angle’, somehow gives a sly wink to their new and old material simultaneously. The vibrant melodies of ‘The New Fellas‘ and ‘Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever‘ are present, but with a new-found complexity that simply leaves us in awe.

‘Burning For No One’ moves at a surprisingly leisurely pace with uncharacteristically clean, rhythmic guitar driving this offensively melodic affair. A clever change in time signature on ‘Mr. Wrong’ grants it a gratuitously heavy, head-bangingly-epic chorus with a euphoric guitar solo throw in at no extra cost. And who could forget the chugging chords, monstrous bass and contagious lead we first heard on ‘Ivory Hand’? With Ryan Jarman forging a multitude of melodies that wouldn’t be too out of place on Guitar Hero, ‘For All My Sisters’ is undoubtedly some of his best axe-work to date.

‘Simple Story’ gives us time to catch our breath with ‘City Storms’ filling us with all that Cribs nostalgia we first encountered over ten years ago, somehow still managing to remain fresh in 2015. The relentless riffs just keep coming as supporting vocals on ‘Pacific Time’ try to maintain the pace; with an outro not too dissimilar to the likes of ‘Arena Rock Encore With Full Cast’, it’s a triumph. It’s hard not to constantly worship Ryan Jarman’s lead guitar work as it ceases to steal the spotlight, with following track ‘Summer Of Chances’ being no exception. It becomes a task in itself to make it through ‘For All My Sisters’ without desperately wanting to replay each song in sheer disbelief; much in the same way you’d pinch yourself to make sure you’re not dreaming.

The looping riffs of ‘Diamond Girl’ continue this theme of sheer disbelief; how can so many memorable melodies can be condensed into one modest-length album? In turn, the sombre acoustic melodies of ‘Spring on Broadway’ explode into a full-blown assault, with a sinister chorus that hypnotically captures your attention. The melancholic, spooky riffs of ‘Pink Snow’ mark the beginning of the end, as this seven minute journey erupts into one of the most theatrical moments of ‘For All My Sisters’.

Each song plays to The Cribs’ strengths, but each track has an undeniable, distinguishable personality of its own. It’s no surprise that Gary Jarman takes lead vocals a hell of a lot more than we’d expect on ‘For All My Sisters’, but with Ryan Jarman competing for ‘World’s Most Underappreciated Guitar hero’, that’s not a change we particularly object to. ‘For All My Sisters’ is a string of consecutive hits which, to the untrained ear, could easily be mistaken for their 2013 ‘greatest hits’ album, ‘Payola’. It’s undoubtedly the best thing we’ve heard all year. 4.5/5

ALBUM REVIEW: The Cribs "For All My Sisters"