WITH an assured cult status, unwaveringly loyal fanbase and long-term label partner, it seemed The Cribs had carved out their niche as the workaholic elder statesmen of indie rock and were more than content to plough its cushy furrow. If their mid-00’s peers such as Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes were the spectacular, then the Wakefield siblings were the solid.  Yet band descriptions such as dependable and reliable have always carried the implication of being damned by faint praise and with such labels came the nagging feeling that The Cribs had never fully realised their entire potential – not least commercially.

Fast forward to 2015 and after a decade with indie label Wichita, the band have now saw fit to up sticks to new major Sony RED – arguably their ballsiest move since including Lee Ranaldo’s spoken word track Be Safe on 2007’s Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever. The decision may have initially raised eyebrows, but seems apposite upon listening to For All My Sisters – the trio’s first big label release and, not so coincidentally, poppiest record yet.

Although the old school hallmarks of fuzz pedals, staccato riffs and teen-angst lyrics are still intact, there’s also a rediscovered melodious focus which had recently been put on the backburner in favour of a looser, abrasive sound. Opening track ‘FINALLY FREE’ crashes into life with piledriver cymbals and a feverish guitar line before sloshing into a swing beat fraught with urgency, while the jagged riffs and anthemic chorus of ‘DIFFERENT ANGLE’ is pure quintessential Cribs.

The snarling ‘MR WRONG’ fuses a scratchy punk verse with a power pop chorus reminiscent of Parklife-era Blur as Ryan Jarman laments that “all along I was always Mr Wrong” – the song’s anger only mitigated by a subtle synth line- while ‘AN IVORY HAND’ is built upon a sweeping rhythm that harks to early 90’s alt pop/rock such as The Blue Album. ‘SIMPLE STORY’, a stripped back acoustic track elevated by a driving overdub of fuzz, offers some respite at the record’s midpoint.

‘SUMMER OF CHANCES’ – arguably the album’s best song – deals with themes of gender politics as both brothers push their respective vocal and guitar work to the absolute max. Jarman’s angular playing style has long been extolled with the likes of Johnny Marr and Edwyn Collins giving their seal of approval, and its hooky numbers such as this and ‘DIAMOND GIRL’ which flag him up at his noodling best. The album’s closing moment is also its most audacious as the 7 minute long ‘PINK SNOW’ sees Jarman channel his inner Pixies in the form of demented Santiago guitar and Black Francis wails.

Having positioned For All My Sisters as the pop friendly entrée to the Steve Albini produced punk album due later this year, the band’s decision to dichotomize the two styles remains an intriguing one. For All My Sisters is more proof that the Cribs are at their best when straddling both genres as previously evidenced on tracks like ‘Men’s Needs’ and ‘We Share the Same Skies’. The Cribs might deal in dependable and reliable tricks, but their consistency in continually pulling them off should never be understated.