In the Belly of the Brazen Bull

In the Belly of the Brazen Bull
Studio album by
The Cribs
Released7 May 2012
RecordedTarbox Road, New York City
Abbey Road, London
Electrical Audio, Chicago
GenreIndie rock, punk rock, alternative rock
Length47:25
LabelWichita Recordings

Shock
PIAS

Hostess
ProducerThe Cribs, Dave Fridmann, Steve Albini
The Cribs chronology
Ignore the Ignorant
(2009) 		In the Belly of the Brazen Bull
(2012) 		Payola, 2002 – 2012
(2013)
Singles from In the Belly of the Brazen Bull
  1. "Chi-Town"
    Released: 14 February 2012
  2. "Come on, be a No-One"
    Released: 23 April 2012
  3. "Glitters Like Gold"
    Released: 22 July 2012
  4. "Anna"
    Released: 17 September 2012
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic70/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
NME[2]
Drowned in Sound[3]
AllMusic[4]
Pitchfork7.3/10[5]
Filter[6]
Consequence of Sound[7]

In the Belly of the Brazen Bull is the fifth studio album by British indie rock band The Cribs via Wichita Recordings. It was released on 7 May 2012. The band announced the record title and track-listing on 14 February 2012.

Background

After the departure of guitarist Johnny Marr from the group was announced on 11 April 2011, the Cribs started working on writing the follow-up to Ignore the Ignorant as a three-piece. They played several headlining slots at UK festivals in summer 2011, as well as a show at Le Zenith, Paris with The Strokes, and a trip to Brazil for two shows in São Paulo. In December, the band headlined the Clockenflap festival in Hong Kong, debuting material from the new album for the first time.[8]

Recording

Recording for the album began in summer 2011 with Queen producer David Richards, at Mountain Studios, Montreux. However, the sessions were later shelved, for unspecified reasons. Instead, the majority of the LP was recorded at Tarbox Road Studios, Cassadaga with producer and engineer David Fridmann in autumn and winter 2011 and early 2012. Sessions at Electrical Audio studio, Chicago with engineer Steve Albini-produced "Chi-Town". A self-produced session at Abbey Road, London yielded the final four-song suite that closes the record. Sam Okell and Pete Hutchings engineered the Abbey Road sessions. The album was mastered at Sterling Sound, New York City by Greg Calbi.[9]

Critical response

In the Belly of the Brazen Bull has received generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 69 based on 26 reviews.[10] The Guardian called it "a well-executed homage to lo-fi slacker rock" but warned "it's all a little too faithful to its template to be truly arresting."[11] Pitchfork scored the album a 7.3, reserving particular praise for the lead single Chi-Town and its "ruthless efficiency."[12]

Personnel

The Cribs
Additional personnel
  • Rodrigo Etguello – violin
  • Tristan Beck – cello
  • Dave Fridmann – Mellotron, Omnichord
  • Greg Calbi – mastering
  • Nick Scott – artwork, layout

Singles

Four singles were released to promote the album. The band gave away the song "Chi-Town" as a free digital download on February 14, 2012. The first official single, "Come On, Be A No One" was released on 23 April, with "Glitters Like Gold" following on 22 July. Both singles were backed with original b-sides. A collaboration with artist Martin Creed produced Work #1431, a video for "Anna".

Accolades

Publication Accolade Year Rank
The Guardian The Guardian's Albums of the Year 2012
22[13]
NME Albums of the year 2012
8[14]
DIY Albums of the year 2012
3[15]
The Fly Albums of the year 2012
21[16]

Charts

Chart (2012) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart[17] 9

Track listing

All tracks are written by Gary Jarman, Ross Jarman and Ryan Jarman

No.TitleLength
1."Glitters Like Gold"4:13
2."Come On, Be A No One"2:37
3."Jaded Youth"3:52
4."'Anna'"3:03
5."Confident Men"3:01
6."Uptight"4:12
7."Chi-Town"3:20
8."Pure O"4:16
9."Back to the Bolthole"4:49
10."I Should Have Helped"2:30
11."Stalagmites"4:26
12."Like A Gift Giver"1:17
13."Butterflies"2:52
14."Arena Rock Encore with Full Cast"2:40

All tracks are written by Ryan Jarman

iTunes bonus track[18]
No.TitleLength
15."Eat Me"3:20

References

  1. ^ "In The Belly of the Brazen Bull by The Cribs Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  2. ^ Schiller, Rebecca (8 May 2012). "The Cribs – 'In The Belly of the Brazen Bull' – NME". NME. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  3. ^ Hammond, Didz. "Album Review: The Cribs – In The Belly of the Brazen Bull / Releases / Releases // Drowned in Sound". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 16 May 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  4. ^ Phares, Heather. "In The Belly of the Brazen Bull – The Cribs". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  5. ^ Cohen, Ian. "The Cribs: In The Belly of the Brazen Bull Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  6. ^ Martell, Nevin. "FILTER Magazine – Reviews – The Cribs". Filter. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  7. ^ Coplan, Chris (10 May 2012). "The Cribs – In The Belly of the Brazen Bull". Consequence. Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  8. ^ Dan Stubbs, 'Albums of 2012' in Q Magazine, February Issue (London: EMAP publishing, 2012)
  9. ^ "List of Recordings by David Fridmann". Archived from the original on 18 June 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  10. ^ "In the Belly of the Brazen Bull". Metacritic. Metacritic. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  11. ^ "The Cribs: In The Belly of the Brazen Bull – review". The Guardian. The Guardian. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  12. ^ "In the Belly of the Brazen Bull". Pitchfork. Pitchfork. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Best albums of 2012: 40–21". The Guardian. 26 November 2012.
  14. ^ "50 Best Albums of 2012". NME. 20 November 2012.
  15. ^ DIY magazine UK, december 2012
  16. ^ The Fly magazine UK, channelfly, december 2012 edition
  17. ^ "BBC – Radio 1 – the Official Chart with Reggie Yates – the Official UK Top 40 Albums Chart". Archived from the original on 21 November 2010. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  18. ^ https://music.apple.com/us/album/in-the-belly-of-the-brazen-bull/510650137