Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever
by The Cribs
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. Drowned In Sound
    90
    Ultimately, Men’s Needs… is brighter, sharper and just plain better than anything The Cribs have produced to date.
  2. New Musical Express (NME)
    80
    They've delivered the tunes, alright, but they can't help but fill them with angst, confusion and lashings of amp fuzz. Safe, predictable and packaged for the mainstream? This album is anything but.
  3. Pitchfork
    67
    But all the marquee names in the world wouldn't mean a thing if the Cribs didn't step up in the songwriting department, and the trio answer Kapranos' ready-for-prime-time production with chart-gazing tunes.
  5. Lost At Sea
    79
    From start to finish the album is well balanced and well fueled, and while it isn't quite the total package it is certainly a step in the right direction.
  6. musicOMH.com
    90
    There's absolutely nothing indecisive (or indeed shit) about this album. It's swaggering, full-throttle, full-throated genius.
  7. Rolling Stone
    80
    Finally, the Cribs deliver the tour de force they had in them, and it's about time.
  8. AllMusic
    70
    With each album, the Cribs have gotten a little sharper and more focused, and nowhere is this clearer than on the brilliantly named Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever, the band's major-label debut.
  9. PopMatters
    70
    Produced by Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos and mixed by Andy Wallace (Nirvana, Foo Fighters, At the Drive-In), the disc sounds great, bursting with angular guitar riffs and shout-along choruses.
  10. The A.V. Club
    75
    The Cribs' songs run together some, and Strokes-y guitar eruptions on songs like "My Life Flashed Before My Eyes" make it hard to deny the over-familiarity of this sound
  11. Amazon.com
    80
    On their third album, a major-label debut with one of rock's great titles, the trio wears a newly polished sound proudly, while not coming close to straddling the sell-out ledge.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.5

Universal acclaim- based on 36 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 36
  3. Negative: 1 out of 36
  1. Armington
    Nov 30, 2010
    7
    There are many good tracks here, the first four in particular, but I much preferred 'The New Fellas'. That album was packed with fantasticThere are many good tracks here, the first four in particular, but I much preferred 'The New Fellas'. That album was packed with fantastic song-writing (mostly scorning the lame, generic indie scene in the uk) and riotous energy. They've maintained the biting attitude on Men's Needs... but this album isn't anywhere near as fun. Solid listen nonetheless and, yes, still miles better than dross like The Pigeon Detectives.… Full Review »
  2. JoshuaD.
    Feb 16, 2008
    9
    Bursting into Our Bovine Public, once again, The Cribs mean business. Lyrics to make the indie-posing bands quake in their boots and dazzling Bursting into Our Bovine Public, once again, The Cribs mean business. Lyrics to make the indie-posing bands quake in their boots and dazzling guitars to make them wish they could make up a riff as catchy but still so simple. On this album they attack indie bands, indie fans, misogynists, their home town and even the fakes, liars and stars of films (Moving Pictures). A dazzling third record from the real fighters for real indie music, by a real indie band. 9/10… Full Review »
  3. AmurabiM.
    Jan 24, 2008
    7
    With some help from Alex Kapranos, The Cribs with this album has become in the next band-to-watch. They are playing without this sense of With some help from Alex Kapranos, The Cribs with this album has become in the next band-to-watch. They are playing without this sense of urgency that permeates in the British indie rock bands nowadays. They are playing to themselves, and in the meantime, they are mocking the scene, their sound, their fans and themselves. This is not a deliberate movement. They are trying to get themselves away from the wave of conformism and mediocrity of the real indie scene. With this album they are playing like never before. They are not trying to get success; it feels that this is more punk attitude than a commercial strategy. With Lee Ranaldo in the stunning "Be Safe" that remembers that monologue from Trainspotting, and some catchy tunes like "Men´s Needs" and its counterpart "Women´s Needs", the album feels glorious. But there are a problem. It notices than the primal influences like The Strokes or The Libertines still keeps permeating the sound of the band. And Kapranos or someone else can´t help, than the band still fights with their intern demons, that it reflects into this derivative sound. This could be a great album if they are trying to forget those bands and focus more often into themselves.… Full Review »
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