In the Belly of the Brazen Bull
- The Cribs
- Critic Score
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May 8, 201290It still defiantly goes against the grain, but also explodes with immediate, attention-grabbing riffs.
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May 4, 201290This is their best yet and possibly the best of the year.
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Jun 20, 201280This is the work of a band who are beginning to realise they don't always need to bark so loudly to be heard. [Jun 2012, p.103]
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May 14, 201280Raw but accomplished, tuneful yet noisy, on In the Belly of the Brazen Bull the Cribs are more comfortable with their contradictions than ever.
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May 14, 201280The indie scrappers' fifth album is as cocky, defiant and shouty as earlier efforts.
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May 10, 201280The trio's fifth album, In the Belly of the Brazen Bull, fuses the opposing dichotomies, offering heavy noise and bravado alongside emotional vulnerability to satisfy anyone on the rock and roll spectrum.
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May 7, 201280Back to their scrappy, atonal, lo-fi sound of the band's early days it mightn't be, 'In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull' is still a good album which sees The Cribs exploring new sounds and old – stumbling upon some truly excellent songs in the process.
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May 4, 201280Overall, In The Belly Of A Brazen Bull is an impressive fifth album from the trio, one that contains elements of their earlier work, while also demonstrating the Jarmans' intention not to be constrained by one particular sound.
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May 4, 201280In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull is honest, sweaty and delirious.... Their most exciting album yet.
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May 2, 201280Tunes are plentiful, but competing with angularity and dissonance to establish a prevailing mood.
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May 7, 201273If 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.
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Jun 4, 201270If 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.
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May 30, 201270The band's twee-ish melodies are still firmly in place, and the album has its softer acoustic moments - but the big slabs of rock all over In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull help give it a fantastic heft. [No.87 p.56]
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May 29, 201270Like 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.
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May 16, 201270The balance of the record takes some patience before the well-crafted songwriting emerges from beneath a haze of disheveled nonchalance and overdriven feedback.
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May 2, 201270An occasionally excellent but disjointed album. [Jun 2012, p.71]
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Jul 18, 201260The group's fourth album confirms that their default setting is a bit four-square nuts-and-bolts punk pop. [Jun 2012, p.92]
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May 23, 201260Although this may not be a masterpiece in the repertoire, I can't say that it lacks anything in particular, in fact, the opposite is true. It gives too much. There just became a point where I needed to avert my attention away from the heart-ache.
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May 17, 201260Brazen Bull is a cohesive, if lengthy, album that offers only occasional audio reminders of who was behind the board.
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May 11, 201260While in a way this record sums up everything the Cribs are about, it fails to foreground their most exciting aspects.
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May 3, 201260It's all a little too faithful to its template [90's lo-fi slacker rock] to be truly arresting.
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May 8, 201250It all feels a little weary and, whilst there's clear commitment and execution, the material suddenly sounds oh so dated.
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May 2, 201250Although the Cribs are very good at what they do, the songwriting on the album just feels tired and unfocused.
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May 7, 201240Everything's turned up to 11 but content is absolute zero. If the Cribs were any more landfill, they'd have seagulls following them around.
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May 2, 201240Bull drags on with minimal memorable hooks and far too much guitar feedback. [Jun 2012, p.76]
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Aug 16, 201220It is this very same forgettable, plodding, lo-fi characteristic that strikes the right chord with those that think The Cribs are the answer to rock 'n' roll.