This year marks the tenth anniversary of The Cribs as a band. Many of Cherwell’s readers will no doubt find this a surprisingly long time given that the Wakefield trio have been something of a staple to us throughout our teenage years. Originally formed as a three-piece in late 2001, the Jarman brothers have been the soundtrack to many an adolescent rebellion. The fact they are now ten years old as a band only serves to highlight that we are no longer rebellious teens.
“Ten is a big number; it sounds pretty daunting”, observes Gary Jarman. Although a decade is undoubtedly a long time, The Cribs remain philosophical about it in the context of their own lives. “It’s funny,” says Jarvis, “because sometimes I think it can’t have been ten years, but before this band was in my life I hadn’t travelled, I hadn’t done anything really. So in some ways I can’t believe that I’ve only been as worldly as I am for ten years. It feels about right.”
The Cribs have been prolific in their album output and released their fifth record, In the Belly of the Brazen Bull, earlier this year. However, it was their fourth album, the more polished Ignore the Ignorant, which grabbed headlines owing to the fact that they became a four-piece, adding legendary Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr to their number. With his history of making pop rock, critics and fans alike presumed Marr’s influence was behind Ignore the Ignorant’s slicker sound.
This is something which the band, now without Marr, find slightly irritating. As Gary Jarman explains, “Johnny was encouraging us to be more punk because he wanted to be in a punk band. That’s why he joined us. I think that, if anything, he was trying to pull us towards that kind of stuff and I was trying to pull it in the other direction. It becomes a little bit frustrating for people to assume that we would kowtow to what someone else in the band wanted.”
After an amicable split with Marr, In the Belly of the Brazen Bull saw a return to the rawer sound of The Cribs’ pre-Marr albums and with it an almost audible sigh of relief from their more hardcore fans. Whilst the band members are slightly peeved that this is how they have been perceived, Ryan Jarman comments happily, “It seemed like people connected with this record. Almost like we were coming back.”
Now in their thirties, the question of how long The Cribs can credibly continue as an energetic punk rock band is becoming an increasingly pertinent one, as they “really can’t imagine being onstage doing it in the same way forever.” The formation of Ryan Jarman’s new band, Exclamation Pony, would suggest that the band wants to develop and vary its musical production. In Gary Jarman’s view, “Punk’s really limiting. Really incredibly limiting.”
Whilst Gary Jarman likes “the idea of the name continuing as a recording project” the end of The Cribs may happen sooner than later. Ryan Jarman reveals, “There are definitely plans to do some things next year, but as far as looking beyond that, we haven’t really done that.” If The Cribs do break up next year it will be something like the end of an era. They have matured from their early, raw rock records to producing more complex songs, just as their fans have grown from angst-fuelled teenagers into something resembling adults. Perhaps to end now would be fitting.
