[3.5/5]
The Cribs are three British brothers who, like countless other propulsive, limey whippersnappers to emerge of late, craft fun, skinny slacker-punk anthems that sound a lot like the Strokes. But the Jarman lads infuse their wonderfully titled third album with intriguing departures (the acoustic "Shoot The Poets, especially) and a hearty misanthropic streak instead of regurgitating others' art. And though the Cribs, too, keep celebrity pals on speed-dial-Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos produces and Sonic Youth's Lee Renaldo narrates "Be Safe" with a morbid voiceover-the Cribs are easy fellas to pull for. "I'm a realist, I'm a romantic, I'm an indecisive piece of shit," they intone on "I'm A Realist." And whether it's merely dramatic or self-deprecating, it's a sentiment to which all beer-spilling men and women between Long Beach and Leeds can relate. (WARNER BROS.) Tristan Staddon
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