The Cribs’ new record For All My Sisters gathers and utilises all the elements that create a very strangely unique album. And though they appear to have hit the proverbial nail on the head with this one – every album has its ups and downs.
The 12 tracks listed within For All My Sisters regularly fluctuate between a number of various different atmospheres, settings and vibes throughout the duration of the record. Songs such as ‘Mr Wrong’ entertain a more angst filled rock ‘n’ roll theme, ‘Burning For No One’ which offers the best guitar hook on the album, whilst ‘Simple Story’ is one of the slower and sweeter songs. Overall though, For All My Sisters is clearly a very energetic album.
The opening song titled ‘An Ivory Hand’ holds an interesting blend of thumping percussion, a mid level synthesiser flowing alongside the vocal melody and the lesser-than-clean guitar tone. All of which really well balance in the sense that each musician was consistently pulling their weight on a technical level, although the bass line could have been slightly more prominent. The recorded bass line offers a great cushion and added depth to the typically indie guitar riff, but its very difficult to pick out at times. A catchy way to open an album, nevertheless.
https://youtu.be/LcgY2c2hdh4
A definite strong point is ‘Pink Snow’, which opens with a slow and melancholic guitar riff accompanied by a thick resonating bass line along with a vocal section greatly complimented by sentimental lyrics that hold great intellect. It’s a song very reminiscent of how the early Pixies sounded – especially if we take the raw backing vocals into consideration along with the build up and climax of each individual instrument crashing and intertwining with one another. It blew me away.
One of the few low points to this album comes late on in ‘Spring On Broadway’; the opening acoustic guitar felt out of place and it set a confusing atmosphere with how the song played out after the drum queue. You aren’t quite sure how to feel whilst listening to it. The guitar riff feels rather lacklustre and uninteresting, as though it is in a constant battle against the melody of the song, failing to line up together very well. The vocals are relatively okay, the bass guitar is virtually non-existent and the drums are good. Not awful, but nothing special.
Though I digress.
For All My Sisters has so clearly broadcasted a healthy mix of differently styled songs, and even more so in comparison to their previous six or seven albums, if we were to include Payola. The album artwork is rather attractive, too. A great album, not quite perfect, but great nonetheless. And with the way The Cribs have grown since their previous albums, I’m sure they’ll get some great feedback.
Words by Edward Daniell