Swinging between concise guitar pop and rangier, noisier experiments,
the Cribs
' self-titled 2004 debut album contains all the potential they'd develop with different collaborators over the years to come. The band recorded with engineer
Ed Deegan
at London's Toe Rag studio -- famed for its vintage analog gear as well as clients like
the White Stripes
,
the Kills
, and
Television Personalities
-- and
The Cribs
presents the Jarman brothers' music at its most indie. This feeling is reinforced by the album's off-kilter bookends: "The Watch Trick"'s shuffling waltz starts things on a mischievous note, while the stomping, sprawling "Third Outing" provides a wild-eyed finale. In between these songs, however,
show they're not afraid of grand pop gestures. With its big hooks and harmonies, the U.K. Indie Top Ten hit "You Were Always the One" could almost pass for a forgotten British Invasion classic; the album's other hit single, "What About Me," provided the template for the band's shout-along choruses. Moments like these make it easy to hear why
were a breath of fresh air when they arrived in the early 2000s. Though their songs were as catchy as the work of
the Libertines
or
the Strokes
, the Jarmans' down-to-earth, wryly funny, and often poignant songwriting set them apart; it's hard to imagine either of the aforementioned bands penning a lyric like "You were drunk and unbelievably cool/You won't find a friend who knows you like I do" from "Things You Should Be Knowing." Feeling ordinary and forgotten makes "Another Number" one of the album's standouts, while its spiky guitars and plunking eighth-note basslines reflect
' love of American indie music (which also surfaces on the tricky tempo shifts of "Baby Don't Sweat" and
Sonic Youth
-y guitar horseplay of "Learning How to Fight").
is a great introduction to the band's brash and tuneful sides, and also shows that though they later worked with producers ranging from
Edwyn Collins
to
Steve Albini
, they've always been the architects of their sound. ~ Heather Phares