(Credits: Far Out / Album Cover)
Fri 9 January 2026 10:19, UK
The Cribs – ‘Selling A Vibe’
Time and music are inextricably linked. Whether it’s assessing music in the present day and how it engages with culture, or viewing something in the comfort of the rear mirror, emblematic of whatever era we’ve coined a name for. But, on The Cribs’ ninth album Selling A Vibe, they’ve made a case for their music to step out of those constructs, and to be viewed with a sense of timelessness.
The Skinny: This is a band who have been a constant in the British music scene since the heady days of the indie 2000s. Sure, back then they could have been bundled in with the swathe of now titled, indie sleaze music, but now in 2025, they’re just The Cribs, stalwarts of indie music that has bounced between punk and pop, based on where the band are in their lives.
On Selling A Vibe, it landed in a place of knowing comfort that allows a more unashamed pop sentiment to ring through. “Pop music is fundamentally about the beat, and it’s about the bassline and the riff, like it’s the core ingredients,” bassist Gary Jarman said in the Far Out cover story.
He continued, “Because you can have a great pop song and it’s just a repetitive beat with a repetitive baseline and repetitive riff. It doesn’t hide behind anything. It’s just like, this is the hook. This is what we want you to focus on. And that can also be a lyrical hook.”
That unashamed approach can be found on the album’s angsty lead single, ‘Summer Seizures’, which boasts a catchy vocal hook on top of its sun-kissed guitar melodies, while the title track itself leans further into that. The West Coast American sunshine that dripped all over the recording sessions for this record can be found on that track, led by Ryan Jarman’s vocal takes, which at times float into Beach Boys realms.
But it’s an album of dichotomy. The poppier, upbeat melodies are at times paired with deeply introspective lyrics that expose some darker feelings within the band, and Ryan Jarman in particular. ‘Looking For The Wrong Guy’ is a painstaking ballad that he admitted to Far Out was scary, given how “on the nose it was”. But the sort of vulnerability that might not have been available in years gone by only benefits the music.
Sonically, it doesn’t break any ground for the band, though. There is a lyrical and performative change in the record that evidently sees The Cribs turning a corner in their career and driving off into something of a sunset, buoyed by an acceptance of their poppier tropes. But the cobwebs of frenetic indie that made the bedrock of their early career still linger in every song, and in listening to that, there lies a faint desire for something different, more evolved.
The Verdict: As the band rightly muse on their last single for the album, things quite simply are never the same. There is a necessary change that must take place in music, but nevertheless, The Cribs are holding on to something that was once there with the strong grip of a true familial bond.
Standout track: ‘Brothers Won’t Break’
Release Date: January 9th, 2025 | Producer: Patrick Wimberly | Label: PIAS Recordings
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