The Cribs

Fronted by twins Ryan and Gary Jarman and backed by their brother Ross on the drums, The Cribs roared out of Wakefield in the early 2000s in a hail of nihilistic, rabid, DIY, indie rock thunder. Generating a fevered following and a fearsome reputation for crowd diving, stage invading, full-throttle live shows, their early albums The Cribs (2004) and The New Fellas (2005) sought to capture that messy, malevolent, electric energy. It was the slightly more polished third album Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever (2007), produced by Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos, that proved a commercial and critical breakthrough, reaching Number 13 in the UK charts while the storming lead single "Men's Needs" was named third best song of the year by the NME. Legendary guitarist Johnny Marr (The Smiths, Electronic, Modest Mouse) joined the band for fourth album Ignore The Ignorant (2009), and Ryan found himself as an unlikely tabloid star when he started a relationship with pop starlet Kate Nash. Despite bigger venues and increased media interest, at heart The Cribs still purvey the spirit of punk and intensity of grunge, and capture the sweaty, snarling, pogo-ing of a small town rock'n'roll band. They carried this energy over to their fifth album, In the Belly of the Brazen Bull, which was released in 2012 on Wichita Recordings and partly inspired by Ryan Jarman's breakup with indie-pop star Kate Nash. Their sixth album facilitated a label change, with the band moving from their long-time home of Wichita to their own imprint Sonic Blew, formed through a deal with Sony RED UK. For All My Sisters gave the band their third consecutive top ten UK album and also marked the beginning of a partnership with legendary Nirvana producer Steve Albini, who was also recruited for the band's follow-up album, 2017's 24-7 Rock Star Shit, which saw them return to the primitive punk sound of their early years. For their eighth studio album, Night Network, the band tried something new, self-producing their own record for the first time in Dave Grohl's LA studio. In 2021, they released a cover of Comet Gain's 2005 song "Fingernailed For You" as part of the Kill Rock Stars label's 30th anniversary covers compilation Stars Rock Kill (Rock Stars).