Selling A Vibe

Sound DNA

• Alt/Indie
• Indie Rock

• jangly
• uplifting
• urban

About

Fraternal UK trio The Cribs have treated each record as their ticket to an alt-rock fantasy camp, enlisting the likes of Steve Albini, Dave Fridmann, and Ric Ocasek to give their power-pop missives more punch. But coming out of a half-decade hiatus on the cusp of their 25th anniversary as a band, the brothers Jarman sought a more contemporary perspective: <i>Selling a Vibe</i> bears the sonic imprimatur of ex-Chairlift member Patrick Wimberly, whose production résumé spans Beyoncé to MGMT to Lil Yachty. Though Wimberly doesn’t go so far as to give The Cribs a synthy-R&B makeover, <i>Selling a Vibe</i> bears a clean, crisp quality that puts twin frontmen Ryan and Gary’s yearning melodies and heart-seizing harmonies front and center. Standout singles “A Point Too Hard to Make” and “Never the Same” may hark back to the post-Strokes/Libertines moment from which The Cribs were spawned, but the scrappy garage-band energy of old has been upgraded with a veteran act’s sense of poise and precision, while “Self-Respect” and “Brothers Won’t Break” see them relaxing into lush jangle-disco grooves. “Brothers won’t ever break, after all this time,” the Jarmans assure us on the latter, and <i>Selling a Vibe</i> is a case study in how to survive indie sleaze with your dignity intact.

via Apple Music

Tracklist

Credits