Must do better

(Morning Star, Saturday 18 June 2005)

ALBUM: The Cribs - The New Fellas
(Wichita)

WEEK after week, readers countrywide are sickened by the media hyperbole which accompanies the latest set of spotty youths straight outta Grimsby.

The latest "saviours of British Music" are The Cribs - three boys who got lucky with their infectious first single Hey Scenesters and whose main strength seems to be their place of birth - British rock city du jour, Leeds - as this supposedly affords them a greater knowledge of cool than people from, say, Abergavenny.

The shouty pogo-a-go-go punch of Hey Scenesters opens The New Fellas album with ample energy and enthusiasm, but it soon becomes apparent that this is the unrepresentative tip of a particularly stagnant iceberg.

Tracks like I'm Alright Me and Martell wear the band's innate Northerness like it's an impossibly cool indie badge, but tellingly fail to say or do anything of note.

Even the lyrically adequate tracks - We Can No Longer Cheat You being the standout - are let down by off-key vocals and a general feeling of flatness.

Great pop music is not born out of a need to impress grumpy music journos - it's for people to listen to and feel alive, to lift these three minutes above the rest of the day.

The Cribs haven't entirely failed at producing an adequate soundtrack to the summer season, but it isn't enough for any band to simply suffice.

Like all bands, these new fellas owe it to their listeners to excel - but all they've garnered is a poor D for their effort.