Albums to watch

In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull

The Cribs

In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull

The Jarman brothers return for their first album of indie rock since Johnny Marr's departure, their fifth album overall

ADM rating[?]

6.8

Label
Wichita
UK Release date
07/05/2012
US Release date
15/05/2012
  1. 9.0 |   NME

    The Cribs have finally found a point where they're no longer victims of their own ideals. They are masters of them
    Read Review

  2. 9.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    They hammer home how good they are with this embarrassment of riches. This is their best yet and possibly the best of the year
    Read Review

  3. 8.9 |   The AU Review

    A textbook summation of all which makes this band fucking great
    Read Review

  4. 8.0 |   State

    Always indebted to the US, but inescapably English, the Wakefield trio now find themselves in grungier territory than their accents (or perhaps Johnny Marr) would allow
    Read Review

  5. 8.0 |   Consequence Of Sound

    Heavy noise and bravado alongside emotional vulnerability
    Read Review

  6. 8.0 |   musicOMH

    While the album comes across as slightly disjointed at times, there is little here to suggest that The Cribs were disrupted by Marr’s departure. Once again, the three brothers have cemented their status as one of the most exciting bands around
    Read Review

  7. 8.0 |   The Fly

    They’ve made their most exciting album yet
    Read Review

  8. 8.0 |   DIY

    Sees The Cribs exploring new sounds and old – stumbling upon some truly excellent songs in the process
    Read Review

  9. 8.0 |   Q

    This is the work of a band who are beginning to realise they don't always need to bark so loudly to be heard. Print edition only

  10. 7.5 |   BBC

    Lung-busting choruses abound on this tunefully angular LP
    Read Review

  11. 7.5 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    This heady mix of enthusiasm and bitterness ultimately deliver up another raw-edged opus
    Read Review

  12. 7.3 |   Pitchfork

    The Cribs write better hooks than C-level revivalists like Tribes, and if guitar-based music is still your source of shameless pop, you'll probably enjoy In the Belly more than most records that actually aspire for art
    Read Review

  13. 7.0 |   AU Review

    A sturdy, satisfying, indie-rock album
    Read Review

  14. 7.0 |   Uncut

    No more Johnny Marr, but plenty to admire from the Yorkshire trio. Print edition only

  15. 7.0 |   The Quietus

    While in a way this record sums up everything the Cribs are about, it fails to foreground their most exciting aspects
    Read Review

  16. 7.0 |   Rave Magazine

    In spite of some mid-album blips, The Cribs, even on an off day, still sound a lot better than many of their British contemporaries
    Read Review

  17. 7.0 |   Beats Per Minute

    Like everything else the Cribs have done, In the Belly of the Brazen Bull is a relatively easy album to like, with sharp melodies and catchy hooks. It’s just held back by a feeling of indecision that permeates tracks whose parts seem to want to go in conflicting directions
    Read Review

  18. 7.0 |   Prefix

    If you're over alt-rock, then Brazen Bull is going to do little to bring you around. But if you need a new guitar rock record, one that you can headbang to without irony, then the Cribs have delivered
    Read Review

  19. 6.0 |   Spin

    Sans Johnny Marr, the Jarman brothers dip their sturdy Brit-rock hooks in acidic fuzz
    Read Review

  20. 6.0 |   Mojo

    Confirms that their default setting is a bit four-square nuts-and-bolts punk pop. Print edition only

  21. 6.0 |   The Guardian

    A well-executed homage to lo-fi slacker rock
    Read Review

  22. 6.0 |   Evening Standard

    It’s worth digging deep for impressive moments, but newcomers to the band would be better off starting elsewhere
    Read Review

  23. 5.0 |   Clash

    The songs generally lack a killer punch or hook and drift past with little impact
    Read Review

  24. 5.0 |   No Ripcord

    I’m sure the ambition for In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull was to return to their roots and re-ignite the passions of old. The trouble is, they’ve outgrown that attitude
    Read Review

  25. 4.0 |   Independent on Sunday

    If the Cribs were any more landfill, they'd have seagulls following them around
    Read Review

  26. 4.0 |   The Skinny

    This is the sound of a band caught in a time warp; sadly, for The Cribs there’s no going back
    Read Review

  27. 2.0 |   Under The Radar

    Falls somewhere between a doomed American college radio band and a one-album-only British copycat band
    Read Review


blog comments powered by Disqus

Watch it

Roll over video for more options

Hear it

Preview & download it

The Cribs: In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull

  • Download full album for just £5.99
  • 1. Glitters Like Gold £0.99
  • 2. Come On, Be a No-One £0.99
  • 3. Jaded Youth £0.99
  • 4. Anna £0.99
  • 5. Confident Men £0.99
  • 6. Uptight £0.99
  • 7. Chi-Town £0.99
  • 8. Pure O £0.99
  • 9. Back to the Bolthole £0.99
  • 10. I Should Have Helped £0.99
  • 11. Stalagmites £0.99
  • 12. Like a Gift Giver £0.99
  • 13. Butterflies £0.99
  • 14. Arena Rock Encore With Full Cast £0.99
  • Service provided by 7Digital

Latest Reviews

More reviews