CD of The Week

“There’s something about a trio,” is something my best friend and I have said maybe too much in our 20 years of friendship. So many of my favorite bands, like Green Day, The Lawrence Arms, and maybe the closest to the topic at hand, The Jam, have only three members. The Cribs are another band that reminds me how much I love a trio. A British band with cult status, the first time I heard them was from a friend claiming they’re better than The Strokes, which I’ve also agreed with. Coming from that same era of indie rock but from the UK, similar more to The Libertines, maybe simply by sharing the same soil. Their blend of 00s indie rock, early punk rock, power pop, and new wave even caught the attention of Johnny Marr, who joined the band on their 2009 LP Ignore the Ignorant,which, for a Marr/Smiths completionist, is worth the listen.

Even with albums well past their breakthrough, The Cribs have always tried to keep it fresh, like with their 2017 24-7 Rock Star Shit, showing a louder and noisy version of the band produced by Steve Albini, or 2015’s For All My Sisters with hooky guitars and maybe their cleanest production by Ric Ocasek, which was actually the last record he produced before his passing. I still think they are trying something new without straying far, and the first single, “Summer Seizures," is The Cribs doing just that. Maybe the most relaxed they’ve been, slowly building to one of their catchiest choruses to date. I love the harmonies and lead guitar passages.

“If Our Paths Never Crossed” extends this with more guitar hooks, a catchy chorus, and a nice message for the most part. “Self-Respect” gets a little funkier, like a late-career Jam tune. The production on this album is something I love: imitating lo-fi sounds but still sounding like a big rock record. The brothers recorded most of the record with Patrick Wimberly, who is seemingly a little out of left field, having worked recently on Lil Yachty’s Let’s Start Here, MGMT, and even Beyoncé in 2013. I think The Cribs working with different collaborators has made them stand out and not grow stale at all. “Never the Same” could be a track on one of their first three records. A group vocal yelling chorus with a jumpy, peppy beat. Just super catchy punk rock, and being done well in 2026 is hard to find.

Going into this album after hearing the first single, I was excited. Even on LP #9, The Cribs still give something worth listening to, which bands of 20+ years don’t always do. Selling a Vibe marks another standout for the band, maybe more so than the band’s last couple of efforts. It’s a good, enjoyable, solid listen throughout the record. The jangly, slower rocker, “Brothers Don’t Break,” ends the album and states The Cribs, a band of brothers, are here to stay. No U.S. tour dates have been announced as of yet, but I have never seen the band and would love to for this album cycle.