"We should take the road less travelled," declared The Cribs on their 2004 debut. Why don't bands ever stick to their guns?

Let's get this out of the way - the brothers Jarman (Ryan, Gary and Ross) are easily one of the best post-Strokes bands out there. The problem is this: being a post-Strokes band means fuck all these days. And this album proves it. Stuffed full of lightweight indie piffle that would sound totally at home advertising, like, ANY programme on E4, this is watered-down white-boy guitar slang at its dullest. The most unsexy music in the world!ever.

Depressingly, there are three songs here that will probably act as the bands Get Out of Jail Free card.

Opener 'Our Bovine Public' is a frankly brilliant blast of arms-around-your-mates rock, while 'Men's Needs' is catchy AND thoughtful (even though singer Gary treads a surprisingly thin line between doing a good Kurt Cobain impression and a poor Brian Potter one). Better still is 'Be Safe', which features Lee 'Sonic Youth' Ranaldo reciting poetry over the top. What Ranaldo says doesn't really stick though - it's the way the band clatter around behind him that really captivates. It's like they've finally found something they enjoy playing.

One other interesting thing about this record: it was produced by Alex Kapranos from Franz Ferdinand. Still doesn't explain why, on the whole, it's so shit though. (Matt Wilkinson)