The Cribs tackle indie nostalgia and a new era on ‘Never The Same’
Back in the glory days of early 2000s British indie, The Cribs’ fast-paced, energetic rock licks and quintessential pop melodies were a definitive sign of the times.
Along with a surge of others, the music captured the angst-ridden spirit of a new generation. Back then, everything felt blurred by youth; unlike now, when for many of us it feels like a lifetime ago. This sense of disconnect and reflection is precisely where we find ourselves on their newest single, ‘Never The Same’.
As the title suggests, there’s an immediate nostalgic hook, but nestled within a broader sense of malaise that comes with personal self-reflection and noticing subtle changes in the world around. These two forces emerge from familiarity with the song’s arrangements, where the initial riff immediately captures the heart-pumping appeal of all those early indie favourites.
Bassist Gary Jarman recently told Far Out, “For us, making a record is something that it’s less about it being part of a culture now, and it’s more like we take more time over them and just do them when we want to do them because it is more on our terms now.”
Taking that mindset of acknowledging culture while existing somewhere else, ‘Never The Same’ feels bittersweet, like longing for something without actually wishing you were back there. Ryan Jarman mentioned elsewhere that those elements – looking back and acknowledging the now – are precisely where The Cribs seek to exist now; a tipping of the hat, if you will, without trying to recreate something that’s already been done.
“Never The Same is kind of a throwback to our original approach,” said Jarman. “Trim all the fat, bring it in as short as possible and keep out of the way…streamlined. Stylish. It’s almost a little paradoxical, as lyrically it’s about feeling like a different person at this point in life, and missing the chaos of your previous existence, even if it wouldn’t make sense anymore.”
And while the song walks a delicate tightrope between feeling too familiar, too well-done over years of existing in places that are already oversaturated, and feeling just the right amount of fresh, it ultimately settles somewhere in the middle, proving that the band are just as well-versed in their own self-confidence when it comes to venturing forward as they are gazing backwards at times gone by.
Most bands falter at this juncture, especially when they’ve already established themselves in a previous era. But the core of ‘Never The Same’ is that, while it can sometimes feel unsettling to notice changes, that doesn’t always make it a bad thing. As is the case here, it’s about reframing the story and taking the good parts elsewhere, rather than trying to rehash old flames, hoping people will still be willing to listen.
And that reframing comes in the form of The Cribs taking ownership of their own story, and writing with the freedom to explore their own experiences as a singular, unique selling point, as opposed to part of a broader community where it’s difficult to separate yourself from the general noise.
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