The Cribs: “It’s not anything radical, but psychologically we’ve shifted”

In the new issue of DIY (out Friday 27th March), The Cribs claim that “psychologically we’ve shifted” with their new album ‘For All My Sisters’.

Speaking to Ali Shutler, Ryan Jarman says: “This year seems like a really critical one. “A lot of things are different. It’s exciting to move on with a new record.”

By their standards, The Cribs have been absent for an age. ‘For All My Sisters’ is their first studio album since 2012’s ‘In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull’, their first since the release of their decade-celebrating best-of compilation ‘Payola’, and their first for new label Sony Red. This chapter is laced with change but the Jarman brothers are sitting comfortably; this new record is their opening statement: concise and powerful. A self-confessed “pop album”, it was written in the gaps of last summer’s festival circuit. Influenced by the greatest hits setlist (“You realise what you do best and we wanted to consolidate that”) and shaped over “a long period of time where a lot of different things happened,” the band’s seventh album is definitely a Cribs record. “We didn’t even know what that was, so it’s cool that we actually have a sound that’s tangible,” Ryan grins. “It’s really streamlined. We had a couple of years to write this one because we were in limbo last year so we just channelled all that into writing. People who already like the band are going to really understand this record but I also think it’s a good starting point for the next phase. It represents everything we’ve been trying to do. I’m really happy with it.”

“‘The Cribs’ and ‘For All My Sisters’ are the only times I made an album where I was happy and optimistic about my situation,” admits Gary Jarman. “I feel comfortable.” “The first record and this record we made because we really wanted to make a record,” Ryan continues. “The first record you do without any agenda and this record, our contract with Wichita was up and we had a period of time where we didn’t know what we were going to do so we made a record because we wanted to. There was no one rushing us in the studio, no one asking for a record so we made it because it was something we wanted to do and it was fun. It’s almost like we had time to take a breath before making this record.”