Customer Reviews

Men's Needs Women's Needs Whatever

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I fell upon this gem of band, thanks to an entry on Ben Gibbards "MOG" which urged fellow DCFC fans to go out buy MNWNW. Their sound is definitely unlike any "others" out there. The three brothers produce a combination of rock and indie, think Kaiser Chiefs (who are their friends) with a different lead singer. And don't let the track titles steer you wrong, although the Crib's lyrics have that dry sense of humor/cynicism about them, the songs themselves are made to put you in a good mood. The catchy tune on a long drive.

Not a skipable track, but my favorites are Our Bovine Public, Mens Needs, I'm a REALIST, I've tried everything and the awesome Be Safe, which has the same idea as Radiohead's Fitter Happier.... "These are the days when I hate the world Hate the rich, hate the happy, hate the complacent, the TV watchers, beer drinkers, the satisfied ones. Because I know I can be all of those little hateful things. And then I hate myself for realising that"

Pricelesss. Give the Cribs a try!

"Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever" seems like it ought to be late night lounge music from the brown & white silhouettes on the cover. However, this rock pumps hard & punk. From Yorkshire, England, this is the third new set from this band of three brothers, their first major label outing. For the most part, it was recorded in Vancouver, Canada. While most of the tracks share a loud approach, there are differences such as on "Moving Pictures" with the vocal pyrotechnics of guitarist Ryan Jarman. "Women's Needs" is another favorite of mine with its wild bounce and the thundering guitar storm that concludes the piece. "Ancient History" is raucous guitar rock, "By the end of the evening, I was saying "no doubt" of all of the things you can live without." The opener, "Our Bovine Public" is a bouncy keeper. The Cribs pump out classy trashy rock for those who like to listen with the volume turned up so it makes the walls rattle. Enjoy!

I tripped across this band when listening for Oxford Collapse (Remember the Night Parties) on Pandora. The Cribs are tight and catchy. It's got everything I love. High tempo rock without being mindless punk; interesting varied distorted guitar work that is neither indulgent nor fuzzy, driving bass lines, and a rock beat you can feel.

This CD is not one of the seminal albums of all time, but it is a really really good one, from start to finish. Good head-bopping rock n roll fun. And c'mon, you gotta love the title!

This is just such a great album. If you are a moderate or new fan of The Cribs, I definitely recommend checking out this album to get an idea of what the band is all about. It is chock full of singles and popular little songs that well exemplify the message and musical stylings of the band. And even if you've never heard of The Cribs before but like post-punk revival music, you should listen to this album. You will be hooked. I cannot recommend buying this album enough. I've had it for about a month and it has yet to get old or be removed from repeat on my iPod. =]

This is the little band that nobody has heard, and it's a shame. With MNWMW, The Cribs craft a credible contender for indie album to end all indie albums. Every song in the pack has a catchy hook, lyric or overall humorous tone that you can't help but sing along to.

The best in the pack, in my opinion, are Men's Needs, Girls Like Mystery, and Ancient History. All of these songs have an infectious tick that absolutely beg to be heard again and again. And while these songs stand out in my head, the other tracks are no slouches either. More like the alt-rock NY Strokes, The Cribs administer their own British punk rock sound with very simple chord progressions and hooks. By all means these are all well used and you get a sense that while their mastery of musicianship isn't displayed here, every simple hook and chord is used to its most sharp precision. Its deliberate and unapologetic, a perfect blend of whimsical lyrics and "I know where the tune is going, and I don't care one bit" attitude.

While this approach to music writing is great in this reviewers ear, to some it might sound like all the songs sound the same. But that's for you to decide. If you needed to pick one song to listen to in order to judge the quality of the work, I'd go for Girls Like Mystery as a starting point. With that one song you can encompass the direction of their style, and their penchant for light-hearted musical genius.

When I first listened to this album, I knew I would enjoy it for many hours to come. The trio of brothers really know how to jam, and the emotion in their music really shows. They may not have the best voices, but the singing just "fits" with their very powerful lead riffs, along with some great one-liners to help with the sing-a-long.

It's rather hard to place what genre of music this fits in, it's kind of a punk/emo/rock mix, but I wouldn't chalk it up as more of the same. They definitely have a unique style and I look forward to their next album. If this current masterpiece is any sign of things to come, I expect they'll hit the billboards with their next release, but hope it doesn't come at the expense of watered down melodies.

Do yourself a favor, and at least listen to this album once through. Then do it again paying attention to what you missed the first time through. I imagine you'll be hard pressed to give this album less than 4 stars.

This is the first time I have ever reviewed an album here at Amazon but this album is so good I feel compelled to. I know whether or not I like an album or you like an album is purely subjective but I can not but help tell you how much I like this album. There is a very Squeeze quality about them, especially the song "Men's Needs". I'm not sure how to explain why but maybe it's the singing or maybe it's the musicianship as well. I've always liked Brit Rock or Brit Pop going back to the early '80s with The Smiths and Echo and the Bunnymen and so forth. During the '90s the music scene was owned by the UK acts such as Oasis, Blur, Placebo, Super Grass and others. Those bands saved music. On this side of the Atlantic we were subjected to the likes of Sound Garden, Puke Jam, oops I mean Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana, Green Day and the like, but the UK saved us from that and gave us great music in Oasis and other bands of that like. Well The Cribs continue to carry the torch with this fine album. First and foremost the song writing is great. I mean without even mentioning other aspects of the songs the songs are very well written. They also have tight musicianship along with excellent production and excellent singing. They bring an overall feel to the CD that really makes the experience of listening to it a real pleasure. Not only is "Men's Needs" a great song that I never grow tired of but standouts are songs such as "Moving Pictures", "My Life Flashed Before My Eyes", and "Girls Like Mystery". All the other songs are great too. I'd love to see them live and missed my chance to see them at the El Rey Theatre on Wilshire in Los Angeles. I'm still kicking myself for that. It's a beautiful theatre by the way in which I saw Scotty Moore of Elvis fame play there with Lee Rocker of The Stray Cats, and also saw another Sun Records recording star James Cotton play there. Very excellent.

I'm not even sure how I found out about them other than I can only guess I saw something on the internet about Johnny Marr formerly of The Smiths playing a live show with them or something, then I sought out info on this band and heard some songs and bought the album. Get it you'll like it.

The Cribs have created a small masterpiece of spiky guitar pop. Somewhere between Nirvana, the Libertines, and most importantly, the La's. An album that rewards repeated listens although Alex Kapranos' production is straight forward relying on the bands ability to tightly shine. Tracks like "Girls Like Mystery", "Moving Pictures", "Men's Needs", "Our Bovine Public", and most deliciously "I've Tried Everything" grow upon familiarity because of the emotion and chops the band bring to the table and Alex gives them the space to demonstrate these formidable talents. A gem to cherish.

I Love this band, it's just the kind of music that will keep you awake on that long commute home.