CityLife

The Cribs

The Cribs
Apollo
Friday, October 2, 2009

HAS there ever been a more 'indie' moment in the history of music than the serendipitous meeting that sowed the seeds for Johnny Marr's re-birth as a Crib?

The mercurial Smiths' guitarist actually first bonded with the Wakefield noisiks' bassist Gary Jarman over white tea… at a vegetarian barbecue… hosted by Pavement's Stephen Malkmus… in America's capital of all things lo-fi, Portland, Oregon!

The encounter left the Yorkshireman with food for thought, and, After a few guest appearances on stage, Marr was invited to turn a three- piece into a foursome permanently last year.

Visceral, punk ethos

But what was the iconic guitarist famed for his eclectic collaborations down the years, was going to bring to the Jarmans' (brothers Ross, drums, and Ryan, guitar and vocals, complete the line-up) table?

The classic, jangly melodic riffs he's always supplied. Complementing the Jarmans' visceral, punk ethos perfectly, – the record has extra thrills live too – as a sold out Friday feeling-infused Apollo crowd found out.

Marr looked youthful in impossibly skinny jeans. Yet, despite the  plethora of new cuts, it was the spirited, punk-inflected standards the original trio built their cult following on which hit home.

Ultra infectious

Hey Scenesters! prickled with gritty passion, while the rabble rousing, lyrically biting, Our Bovine Public sent the masses into moshing overload.

But it was their career standout moment, the sparkling Men's Needs, which possesses the kind of ultra infectious riff Marr would surely have been proud of, which soared the highest.

The Cribs are patently a formidable and enchanced unit whose position in the musical spectrum is rising all the time.