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The Cribs' Gary Jarman has given an insight into the recording of their iconic album Men's Needs, Women's Need's, Whatever in a recent interview - ahead of the special Leeds Arena show, celebrating the record's tenth anniversary.
Wakefield's finest are currently touring the 2007 record, which spawned huge indie anthem 'Men's Needs', 'Moving Pictures' and 'I'm A Realist'. It's one of the notable records from the 00s, when there was a huge boom of leather jacket-wearing, guitar-chugging indie bands hoping to make it big. Unlike many, The Cribs have stood the test of time.
Now, in an interview with the Yorkshire Post, guitarist Gary Jarman reminisces about the birth of the LP.
"I think the writing process was the best for me," Jarman said. "We worked really hard, every day, and there was so much excitement around the demos. We had a lot of US labels trying to sign us and flying us out to wine and dine us and stuff, and we KNEW we had these really cool demos that no one had heard yet."
Jarman explained how his feelings towards the album have changed through time, as he wasn't a fan of its more polished sound initially, "I always felt weird that the vocals were so dry and upfront in the mix. Cos the words are kinda personal, you know, and so I would struggle to listen to the album.
"More recently, I have been listening to the record a lot to prepare for the tour and I love the way it sounds. It’s so unique – I can’t think of another record that is anything like it sonically."
He continued: "It’s really cool. I’m just proud that we made that record at that time, stepped up our game. Most bands never have a breakthrough album, and so because of that it has a special place for us, I guess."
Jarman also discussed working with producer and Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos on the record, embracing smaller towns, and the band's disliking of encores. Read the full interview here.
Earlier this year, the Jarman brothers were honoured with a museum exhibition at Wakefield Museum. The collection included important items from the band's career.
The Cribs will play Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever in full at the huge Leeds Arena show tomorrow night (May 20). They'll be joined by support acts Slaves and Pulled Apart By Horses.
