Johnny Marr's latest effort Playland is a disappointment. There's no use in sugarcoating it. Marr, of course, is a legend -- an icon -- and nothing he does can damage his iconic status in the pantheon of musical greatness. His songwriting partnership with Morrissey yielded a bumper crop of timeless material. But his output as a solo artist is far more inconsistent -- many of his guitar licks feel less than innovative and his songwriting and lyrics just don't measure up. And nowhere has that been more evident than Friday night at the -- similarly iconic -- Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey.
I'll get back to Marr in a minute but first, about the Stone Pony. I had never seen a show there. It's not a large room and the stage is just a platform on one side. It's so unassuming that there are signs warning patrons not to put personal belongings on the stage, and that includes their drinks. There's also no backstage. There's a stage door that leads to the sidewalk outside and that's where the performers come in before going on stage. Also, the roadies and techs are all right there in a penned off area between that stage door and the stage itself.
We staked out a good location on the side along that pen. We had a clear shot of the stage door, and a very good view of the stage. So around 10pm, in came Marr's band followed by Marr himself. They started with the rather forgettable title track from the new record before launching into "Panic", the first of six Smiths songs. Again, I felt that watching Marr do Smiths songs was totally natural. Sure, he didn't sing on the originals or write the lyrics, but it's his music and seeing Marr do them is as close as we'll come to seeing the Smiths reunite. (It just won't happen.)
After "Panic" was "The Right Thing Right" from the last record -- which is one of Marr's better solo tracks, and the catchy albeit uninspired new single "Easy Money". The new stuff just felt soulless in comparison to the Smiths material, which still crackled after 30 years.
There were a couple of nice touches: He paired two songs about schooling "New Town Velocity" and "The Headmaster Ritual" and he again played Electronic's "Getting Away With It" -- calling it a song about his hometown of Manchester. He paid tribute to the Stone Pony itself by talking about how, growing up in England in the mid-'70s he would hear about it as Bruce Springsteen was coming up and said it was an honor to play on the same stage. And -- of course -- he finished his 15-song first set with "How Soon is Now?" which still sounds better than most anything else out there.
After a quick break, Marr and the band came back out for "Still Ill" - a Smiths song I hadn't previously heard him do - as well as "I Fought the Law" and the show closer "There is a Light That Never Goes Out" which he dedicated to Bruce Springsteen (and everyone in the crowd.)
Overall, it was an enjoyable show. But I came away with the distinct feeling that the Smiths were such a good band that nothing Marr does now can come close to his former greatness. And I was left with a tinge of wistfulness for the Smiths reunion that will never happen.
It's that time of year again. And this year I'm offering what looks to be my poppiest list yet: At least four of these songs were mainstays of pop radio in 2013. That said, I think it's a strong list, so without any excuses, or further ado, here goes:
Johnny Marr - "New Town Velocity" The Messenger, Johnny Marr's first proper solo record, dominated my listening during the first half of the year, and his live set at Irving Plaza was easily the year's musical highlight for me. I've been an evangelist for Marr's guitar prowess for years -- both on this site and off -- but even I was pleasantly surprised with the consistency of this album, and in particular, the quiet strength of this song.
Frank Turner - "Recovery"
A big discovery this year for me was the music of this Wessex boy. A regular punk rocker who discovered Springsteen's Nebraska and morphed his sound into something more folksy, he never lost his edge or his attitude. And his lyrics are smart and literary, which I always appreciate. This year's album Tape Deck Heart was as much a break-up record as it was an homage to his tattoos (and in darker moments to other forms of youthful self-mutilation). On this track, Turner shows off his knack for making the emotionally raw sound like something to celebrate.
Palma Violets - "Best of Friends"
A great song makes you want to pick up a guitar and play. By that measure, there is no shortage of great songs on 180, the stunning debut by London's Palma Violets. Picking the best of the lot was no easy task,
but this rousing sing-along would pump up anyone -- from a crowd in a small club to a stadium. I'm not sure they're heading for the latter, which is too bad because this is as good a debut as I've heard in a while. Like Arctic Monkeys before them, they've perfected the art of the three-minute garage stomp, complete with power chords and 60s organs. Which leads me to...
Arctic Monkeys - "Do I Wanna Know?"
This is what garage rock sounds like ten years down the road. On AM, the Arctic Monkeys slowed things down and found the funk, all without losing that garage rock sound. Lead singer Alex Turner cited everyone from Outkast to Aaliyah to Black Sabbath as influences this time around, and it shows.
Parquet Courts - "Stoned and Starving""I was walking through Ridgewood, Queens/I was flipping through magazines..." and with that, Brooklyn's Parquet Courts kick off one of the most amusing tracks of the year. With Andrew Savage's witty couplets, a motorized Krautrock beat and a hypnotic guitar riff on near-endless repeat, this track perfectly captures the monotony of aimless, late-night wandering, and signals the arrival of Brooklyn's next great band.
Foxygen - "No Destruction"
This year also brought us a little Brooklyn backlash, in the form of LA's Foxygen. Listen closely and you'll hear it: "There's no need to be an asshole/You're not in Brooklyn anymore." Foxygen's capital V Velvety-smooth sound almost foretells this year's death of Lou Reed, and with this effort their on their way to filling that enormous void.
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Mary Lambert - "Same Love"
I include this pop fixture because it is the perfect takedown of all that is wrong with 1) hip hop, 2) conservative politics, and 3) organized religion. My twenty-one year old sister-in-law played this for me this summer -- sat me down and made me watch the video, actually -- and its impact on me was instant and undeniable. Like the best protest songs of the 1960s, this song succinctly captures the progressive mood of a country during a year that saw us hurtle further and faster toward accepting the single biggest civil right of our time.
Avicii - "Wake Me Up"
I'm not a big EDM fan, nor am I that fond of the ubiquitous Mumford and Sons-style folk revival stuff. And you-got-your-peanut-butter-in-my-chocolate mash-ups seldom work. So what's this chart-topping guilty pleasure doing on this list? Tune in at 1:24 and you'll know. When Avici drops his electronic bombast on top of that folk shit, you can't not want to jump out of whatever chair you're sitting in. Nevermind that the lyrics -- by Aloe Blacc -- are pretty dreadful. And that the ho-hum guitars are done by the guy from Incubus. And that the you're-not-one-of-us video is terrificly trite. And that... oh, forget it. Just dance.
Daft Punk & Pharrell Williams - "Get Lucky"
We may as well get through all the pop stuff in one shot. If 2013 comes down to this and Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines", this wins by a landslide. You couldn't get away from this track at the height of summer, and when it was on, you didn't turn it off. (I even played it at my kid's lemonade stand.) Who would have thought that the French kings of electronica would return after a long absence and conquer the world?
Capital Cities - "Safe and Sound"
Another family dance-party favorite. Or at least another earworm with a killer hook. I could sing that horn part for weeks on end. And as John knows, the bearded guy dancing in the video cracks me up every time.
Editor's note: We're through with the pop portion of this list.
Heaven - "Colors in the Whites of Your Eyes"
Jesus and Mary Chain weren't the shoegazers who made a new album after decades of silence. That honor goes to My Bloody Valentine. But this Brooklyn band filled in admirably, with fuzzy, shimmery guitars and monotone lyrics... right up my alley.
The Vaccines - "Everybody's Gonna Let You Down"
The Dandy Warhols were often accused of being an American band that wanted to be British. On this track, London's Vaccines are a British band that wants to be the Dandy Warhols. And that's not a knock. The Vaccines have been around for years, but I never really noticed until I heard the nonchalance of this downer of a track. The Dandy Warhols influences are obvious, right down to the lyrics coming in a few beats after the guitars start the verses. It just oozes cool.
Deerhunter - "The Missing"
Atlanta's Deerhunter have made consistently good music in their eight-year career. Their sixth studio album Monomania continues that tradition, taking cues from 80s indie, shoegaze, Krautrock and bands like Sonic Youth and the Breeders. This track leans on a tight guitar riff and Bradford Cox's distorted vocals, and builds to a swirling crescendo before falling back down.
Cayucas - "High School Lover"
I had this song pegged as a song of the summer back in February. I was, of course, wrong. I figured it was a can't miss. It has the same breezy feel as fellow SoCal band Foster the People's hit "Pumped Up Kicks", with a bass line on warp speed and the sunny influences of the best 50s and early 60s pop. It should have been huge. Oh well.
Holy Ghost! - "Okay"
In a world without LCD Soundsystem, we have to settle for proteges like Holy Ghost! (Notice Arcade Fire's Reflektor, produced by LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy, is missing from this list.) This song would be right at home in 1985, with its bouncy synths, beeps and bloops.
Cut Copy - "Let Me Show You Love"
I've been waiting for years for some band to rediscover the Happy Mondays, and Cut Copy has. Thank the Lord. This is as close to Madchester as we've been since the Hacienda shut down in 1997.
Maps - "A.M.A."
Northampton, England's James Chapman has been making shoegaze-inspired electronic since 2006. On this catchy and majestic single, he reminds us that his first love may well be bands like New Order.
The Bryan Ferry Orchestra - "Love is the Drug"
Baz Luhrmann may have had the idea, but Bryan Ferry has the music. This clever collection re-imagines some of Ferry's greatest songs in the style of 1920s jazz. Ferry has traded in the instruments for the role of Svengali, overseeing an assortment of other musicians, and the results were showcased in Luhrmann's film The Great Gatsby. The great thing here is that the arrangements are so good -- and the songs so solid -- you initially don't recognize what you're listening to. And when you finally do -- like when the chorus kicks in here -- it's wonderful. This is the rare cross-cultural melange that actually works.
Some of the best discoveries I made this year were actually from years past -- like Scotland's fabulous Django Django and the terrific 2012 album Something by Brooklyn's Chairlift. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention them as they provided many hours of listening pleasure over the past year. And as always, I look forward to reading your comments... and your lists.
It was probably two songs into Johnny Marr's set last night at Irving Plaza that I realized I had died and gone to heaven. I was hearing "Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before" -- a Smiths song being played by a Smith.
"Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before" is one of the strongest songs off the Smiths last studio record Strangeways Here We Come. But I associate it very closely with Morrissey, perhaps because the video features the Moz and a bunch of lookalikes riding bikes around Manchester. Last night -- at least for me -- it became a Johnny Marr song.
The Smiths aren't coming back. There won't be a reunion -- the personalities are too strong, the divisions too deep. So that leaves the 40-something Smiths fan with two choices: Morrissey or Marr. Whose stamp is more important on the Smiths? Obviously, they were equally important. But would you rather hear Morrissey sing with a backing band that can't handle the sublime guitar parts that made the Smiths shine? Or would you rather go straight to the source, and see Johnny Marr?
For me the answer was easy. And my incredibly high expectations were more than met at last night's show. Marr's guitar work, of course, was as fantastic as ever -- even better than the studio albums would lead you to believe. And as a frontman, he's surprisingly good, with a genuine, rock star cool that doesn't come off as affected or cheesy. He kicked off with "The Right Stuff Right" and played a lot of his new solo album The Messenger, culminating in my song of the year so far, "New Town Velocity".
But it was the Smiths tracks -- "Stop Me", "Bigmouth Strikes Again", "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out", "London" and, of course, "How Soon is Now?" -- that really got the crowd going.
Marr handled the Smiths songs very well. His voice doesn't have the character of Morrissey's -- for better or worse -- but he sung them well. And therein lies the inherent conundrum in all of this: What does Marr think when he sings Morrissey's words? He didn't tip his cap to his erstwhile partner the whole night, which, considering how nice a guy he seems to be, was, at least to me, a surprise. But then again, it's Marr's music, so he has every right to take ownership of it. And I'm sure Morrissey's not thinking about Marr when his band plays Marr's music.
Anyway, the set had a few surprises: A cover of the Crickets' "I Fought the Law" (played faithfully to the Clash version) and two Electronic songs -- "Forbidden City" and a terrific guitar version of "Getting Away With It."
The show also surprised me culturally. Sure, the crowd was largely older -- lots of guys in their 40s, many with thinning hair. But there was a good crop of younger kids, too, and it's good to see them turn out for a guy who has influenced so much indie music over the past 20 years. One side note: there was an older Miami Vice looking guy and his equally older girlfriend or wife standing near me and I overheard them talking before the show about how no one in the crowd "listened to [The Smiths] the way we did" and that the "kids" in the crowd can't possibly be true fans like them. And then to prove they were the assholes I suspected them to be, the guy got into a shoving match with someone as the show got underway. Nice.
Here's another obvious Smiths touchstone: T. Rex. You'll hear the homage instantly in The Smiths' "Panic", which lifts its chord structure straight from T. Rex's "Metal Guru."
Here's "Panic":
And here's "Metal Guru":
Morrissey and Johnny Marr were huge T. Rex fans dating back to the early 1970s.And as they say, imitation is the greatest form of flattery.
It's no secret that The King of Rock influenced Johnny Marr's compositions with The Smiths. Perhaps the most blatant example of Presley's influence can be heard on The Smiths track "Rusholme Ruffians" -- as Tony Fletcher writes, it "displayed such an obvious doff of the cap to Elvis Presley's "(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame".
Here's another fun nugget from "A Light That Never Goes Out", Tony Fletcher's book about the Smiths.
In 1983, as Johnny Marr and producer John Porter (the bassist from Roxy Music) worked out the track that was to become "How Soon Is Now?", dance music was all the rage. Hip-hop was taking off, The Smiths had toured in clubs like Danceteria in New York, and their American record label even released 12" dance remixes of Smiths songs, as was the order of the day. Fletcher writes about the production of the track -- at the time just called "Swamp" -- and what was to be Marr's final instrumental flourish before Morrissey was called in to add lyrics:
"The final instrumental touch was Marr's relatively simple melody -- the high notes heard at the end of each 'verse' -- which he played using the electric guitar's natural harmonics. An almost precise replica of the synthesized vibraphone sound heard loudly on Lovebug Starski's 1983 12" "You've Gotta Believe," this was Marr's not to Starski as both a distant hip-hop influence and an immediate welcoming presence when the Smiths appeared at Danceteria. Such subtle notations were his way of countering the Smiths' public perception as '60s revivalists and rock purists."
Listen for yourself. Here's Lovebug Starski's "You've Gotta Believe" -- and the notes Marr borrowed for what was to become "How Soon is Now" will be very obvious:
I just finished reading Tony Fletcher's amazing new book A Light That Never Goes Out: The Enduring Saga of The Smiths. Despite its more than 600 pages, it's a fast read, yet informative and well researched. And it's not a song-by-song analysis of the Smiths catalog (although there's plenty of that) but rather places the band in their cultural, social and political context in 1980s Britain. I highly recommend it.
In any case, now that I've completed the book, I'm going back over the pages I dog-eared for further research. I like to hear the influences Fletcher writes about and I'm spending a lot of time on YouTube following up on his writing. And I'll no doubt have more of these types of posts in the near future.
Today I start with the story of when Britain's Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron referred to himself as a Smiths fan -- something both Marr and Morrissey -- in a rare moment of post-breakup solidarity -- forbade him from doing. And then something even more peculiar happened: This exchange between Cameron and a Labour M.P. over who could name more Smiths songs:
Don't you wish we had something like Prime Minister's Question Time in this country?
It's one of the most famous guitar riffs in music -- Johnny Marr's tremolo-laden riff in The Smiths' "How Soon is Now".
When we first heard it in 1985, it sounded like nothing else out there. It still sounds totally unique, despite being covered and sampled over the years. The other day, I was tooling around YouTube and found an interview in which a Rickenbacker-toting Johnny Marr cites the reference points for the riff -- Hamilton Bohannon's Disco Stomp, Bo Diddley and Can. It's around 2 minutes in on this clip:
So let's go back in time and listen to the influences Marr cites. First, here's Hamilton Bohannon's "Disco Stomp":
Here's Bo Diddley's "Hey Mona":
And finally, Can's "I Want More":
The influence of all three is clear, but Marr's riff is hardly derivative. And when you look at The Smiths through this prism, you really can hear the funk influences in the band, despite its otherwise white-bread appearance.
By the way, I feel like I should explain why I'm devoting so many posts to things relating to Johnny Marr. First, I'm listening to his solo albumThe Messenger a lot. Second, I'm reading Tony Fletcher's terrific book about The Smiths, A Light That Never Goes Out. I'm more than 100 pages in and the band hasn't even formed yet -- Fletcher spends generous amounts of time on the cultural mores of Manchester in the 1970s as both Marr and Morrissey come of age. It's an excellent read.
I picked up Johnny Marr's The Messenger when it came out this week, but I haven't had a chance to really listen to it until today. I had heard three songs off the album, which I posted about earlier, and pretty well liked what I heard. But I wasn't knocked out. Until I heard this track:
That's "New Town Velocity" and it's everything I'd hoped for from a Marr solo track. I plan on giving this record a lot of time in both the car and the iPhone (and also in the basement!) -- which reminds me of my dilemma about this album: Should I download it on iTunes or buy the actual CD? I choose the latter. I wanted to own something tangible, and I wanted to listen in the car (I don't have an AUX input.) And, despite being forced to jump through many additional hoops just to enjoy the music I bought, I was able to get it onto the iPhone as well. I think I'm rebelling against our digital world.
No doubt I'll have more on Johnny's solo album in the days ahead.
New Order have confirmed that Johnny Marr will join them for two warm-up shows this Spring -- on in Vegas and one in Santa Barbara. Could it be that they'll play some Electronic songs? (Is Neil Tennant available?)
Also, New Order is teasing more American shows later in the year. Does that mean Marr may join them for an East Coast swing? One can only hope.
Easy one today. "Uncertain Smile" by The The. It's such a good song -- even though it pre-dates Johnny Marr's time with the band. Every time I hear it on Sirius First Wave, it sticks in my head for days. Not that I'm complaining.
I've made it clear that I'm a huge fan of Johnny Marr. He's the most inventive guitarist of his generation -- and you'd be hard-pressed to find a better technical player in any generation. I even nod my head in agreement when I read quotes from Marr saying The Smiths "invented indie as we know it." Why, yes... yes you did. Who am I to argue?
So imagine my excitement upon hearing that Marr's debut solo album "The Messenger" is due out next month. Excitement and trepidation. After all, Marr was the brains behind The Smiths -- the wizard behind the velvet curtain. He was a hired gun for both The Cribs and Modest Mouse, though his arranging and songwriting skills were clearly in evidence on tracks like "We Share the Same Skies" and "Dashboard". But I don't know what to expect when Marr is both the brains AND the face -- After all, I never really got into the Healers -- the last project where he was the top dog. So what are we in for with "The Messenger"?
Last month, we heard the upbeat album cut "The Right Thing Right" -- which kicks off with some very trademark Marr guitar-work -- those slides against that strum -- before pumping up the energy. And you can distinctly hear parts of the song that directly relate back to Marr in The Smiths: At :56 I'm reminded of "Oscillate Wildly" and the chords are reminiscent of a song in the Marr catalog that I just can't place. But
I love that about Marr's work -- no matter how it changes, it's grounded in something so elemental.
Now, thanks to NME, we have the first single -- "The Upstarts" -- and it's a perfectly good song, but not a great one. Like any Marr song, you know it's him -- the guitars give that away -- especially during the bridges. Johnny's vocals are warmer and more melodic than I would have expected. But for whatever reason the song doesn't draw me in with a unique riff or hook. I'm happy enough to hear it, but not happy enough to love it.
So the bottom line? I'm undecided. Undecided at whether I'll like what I hear after giving it a few more plays. I'm not undecided about buying the record. The release date is late February, and I'll be there.
By the way, how did I miss Johnny Marr appearing onstage last month in New York with Dinosaur Jr. covering "The Boy With the Thorn in His Side"?? Watch:
UPDATE: After listening to the new Johnny Marr songs all weekend, I'm officially on board. "Upstarts" is a great tune, catchy and melodic. I'm very much looking forward to the new record.
I enjoyed today's balmy weather by taking the day off. I'm owed a lot of time at work after what has been a busy year, and it was just luck of the draw that I took off on a December day when temperatures reached the 60s. In any case, I was driving by the local high school during their lunch hour -- this was not planned, I'm not one of those pathetic losers -- windows down and "How Soon is Now" playing loudly in my sensible family station wagon. And that little anecdote leads to my Three for the Road, Smiths edition:
1) "Hand in Glove" - It fades up on Marr's guitar riffs and then that harmonica kicks in and it's gold. Johnny Marr at his finest.
2) "Half a Person" - "Sixteen clumsy and shy" pretty much sums up the Smiths for me.
3) "The Headmaster Ritual" - A song after your own heart -- about public education.
Honestly, this is all coincidental. First I found the new Fender Johnny Marr guitar, then I see Johnny Marr in a skit on "Portlandia", then my brother sends me the Mario Brothers version of "This Charming Man."
And now this. The Amoeba Records "What's In My Bag" series of videos. Each video features another celebrity shopper talking about what they're about to buy at Amoeba. I stumbled upon it today when I found Johnny Marr's "What's In My Bag.". It's no secret how much I love Amoeba -- I've even done a version of my own Amoeba list right here. Marr's buying some Ennio Morricone records and a few documentaries -- including about one about Ralph Waldo Emerson he doesn't think will be any good. (Sure enough, the little clip they play of the documentary proves him right.)
And then... yet another coincidence. Johnny's buying a Wire CD. And I was just reading an article in The New Yorker about a 15-year-old girl in Vancouver who adores Wire and made a bunch of videos for Wire songs. She's even reached out -- admittedly annoyingly so -- to Colin Newman, who basically told her to f--- off. Sad, but funny.
So Johnny Marr to Amoeba to Wire... Three of my favorite things.
Johnny Marr is a certified guitar god. And now the folks at Fender agree. I just got my new Musician's Friend catalog and was thrilled to see this entry: it's the brand new Fender Johnny Marr Jaguar -- with his name on the headstock and everything. And it can be yours for $1750.
I did some further research and found this terrific video on the Fender website of Johnny explaining all the things that went into his signature model. Oh, and he plays a bit on it. And it sounds really good.
It's no secret how great a guitarist I think Marr is. But I wouldn't think Fender would take a step like this. After all, this is usually reserved for the absolute legends or harder rockers -- Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Steve Vai (even Ace Frehley doesn't surprise me.) After all, Marr isn't flashy -- he's technical. But he is masterful. And I was happy to see him achieve this level of success.
It's a double-shot today. That's because they're essentially the same song:
Bryan Ferry's "The Right Stuff" from 1987's Bete Noire and "Money Changes Everything" by the Smiths.
Johnny Marr wrote "The Right Stuff" with Ferry based on the instrumental B-Side "Money Changes Everything." Look for Marr in the video -- he looks like he's about 12 years old. By the way, by my calculations, Ferry was 41 when Bete Noire came out.
Bryan Ferry, incidentally, is touring America. He'll be at the Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, NJ on October 4.
I've made no secret that Johnny Marr is a Guitar God in my eyes. So when I read the news this week that he had left The Cribs I was disappointed, but intrigued by what may come next. Marr says he's working on new solo songs and expects to release two records over the next year or so. He adds he's really proud of his work with The Cribs and leaves with three good friends in Ryan, Gary and Ross Jarman. That's the polite side of the story. The Jarman brothers released a statement admitting recording sessions for the next Cribs album weren't working out with Marr. Ultimately, I figure the Jarman brothers might have grown tired of sharing the band they founded with a legend like Marr -- and weary of hearing The Cribs described as Johnny Marr's latest band.
That said, I think Marr's work on Ignore the Ignorant was some of his best in recent memory. Here's my favorite track off the album, "We Share the Same Skies". The opening guitar riff is vintage Marr, and his white Fender Jaguar looks pretty cool in the video.
By the way, if you're interested in learning more about Johnny Marr, check out the following sites. The first is a collection of Marr's guitars (including the white Jaguar he played during his time with the Cribs). I liked reading about his other guitars, like the Rickenbacker he got from Pete Townsend, the Gibson 335 he gave to Suede's Bernard Butler, and the Fender Jaguar he got from Isaac Brock upon joining Modest Mouse. Fun stuff. Here's the link: http://johnny-marr.com/guitarchestrajohnnymarr/guitarchestrajohnnymarr.html
Then there's this song-by-song showcase of Marr's guitar work with The Smiths, including interviews, sheet music, and YouTube clips of other random people playing Marr's stuff. Fun. The following link takes you to the page about "Hand in Glove", one of my all-time favorite Smiths tunes. http://www.smithsonguitar.com/2008/09/hand-in-glove.html
Johnny Marr and the brothers Jarman have announced that they'll be heading back to the studio this year to work on their fifth studio album. Here's what they're telling fans on their website: "Despite currently being on a break, unfortunately The Cribs are not superhuman and still have to eat, therefore they will be playing a handful of Summer Festival shows this year before heading into the studio to work on their 5th album." They'll be headlining Saturday night -- June 11th -- at Scotland's RockNess Festival. They are a great live band, and I'd highly recommend checking them out.
I loved their last album, 2009's Ignore the Ignorant, and thought it was the best Johnny Marr record since The Queen is Dead. Marr's guitar work was solid throughout, and his presence seemed to tighten the rest of the Cribs lineup. I'm very eager to hear what Marr has up his sleeve for the new record. In the meantime, here they are at Glastonbury last year performing "We Share the Same Skies."
