Mirror Kissers // The Cribs
“You’re not allowed to say that you’re better / you’re not allowed to say that cause you’re the hipster type… YOU’RE THAT TYYYYYYYPE!!!!!!!!!!” The Cribs calling out hipsters in 2005, before hipsters even started being a thing, when The Cribs themselves are hipsters and the majority of their fans are hipsters and the scene and subculture they’re all involved in are full of hipsters. Mind-blowing stuff.
The pre-eminent indie punk band of the 20th century, Britain’s finest self-proclaimed mid-fi number The Cribs might not have the largest following, but what they lack in numbers, they make up for with an adoring and dedicated cult fanbase. ‘Mirror Kissers’ is, I like to say, the anthem of our generation; another incredible tune with which the Jarman brothers perfect their craft of great irony in song. It’s one of those songs you just have to see live, for whilst it is never the most flawless or polished live performance, it’s what makes The Cribs – and their electric, blistering live sets – so wonderful.
The Cribs perform and play with everything in their arsenal, and they say “screw perfection”; this is their music, and this is who they are. ‘Mirror Kissers’ is a song which belongs in the dingy back room of a rotting pub venue, sweat bleeding across the walls and a moshpit so intense that your entire body is just one giant bruise. In spite of that, you yell the lyrics so loudly at the top of your lungs that you can actually feel your vocal chords beginning to disintegrate. This song is an unbelievable anthem of non-conformist youth culture, set to grungy, punky, infectious guitar riffs and addictive, toxic lyrics with a bassline that just KILLS. Incredible.
Blood, sweat, and broken vocal chords; who’d have it any other way?
Words by Cady Siregar