Night Network (album)
Night Network is the eighth studio album by English band The Cribs. It was released on 20 November 2020 under the band's own label, Sonic Blew. The album is the band's first fully self-produced album. The band had previously self-produced all but one track on their debut album. They also self-produced the final four songs on 2012's In the Belly of the Brazen Bull which act as a suite, at Abbey Road Studios. The album was recorded over spring / summer of 2019, at the Foo Fighters' Studio 606 in Los Angeles, California.
| Night Network | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 20 November 2020 | |||
| Recorded | Spring / Summer 2019 | |||
| Studio | Studio 606, Los Angeles, CA | |||
| Genre | Alternative Rock | |||
| Label | Sonic Blew, PIAS | |||
| Producer | The Cribs | |||
| The Cribs chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Night Network | ||||
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| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 83/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Clash | 8/10[2] |
| DIY |   [3] |
| The Independent |  [4] |
| musicOMH | [5] |
| NME | [6] |
| Paste | 6.5/10[7] |
Background
Following the release of their fourth consecutive UK top 10 album 24-7 Rock Star Shit, the band almost immediately parted company with their long time UK management and found themselves stuck in what Gary (lead vocals, bass) described as "legal morass", unable to record or release new music. What followed was an eighteen month period of inactivity, resulting in 2019 being the only year since the band's inception in 2002 whereby the band did not play a live concert, following their final gig of the 24-7 Rock Star Shit tour in Glasgow in September 2018.[8] In a position of uncertainty about how to continue beyond the already booked gigs, following a show where The Cribs had supported Foo Fighters in Manchester at the Etihad Stadium in June 2018, Dave Grohl learned of the band's struggles and offered for the band to use his recording studio Studio 606; "Forget about all that business stuff, just come out to L.A. and make a record at our studio".[9]
During 2020, the band was active on Twitter to participate in Tim Burgess' "Listening Parties", offering behind the scenes insight for their most commercially successful album Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever on 7 April[10] and due to the positive response, followed up with another listening party of fan favourite The New Fellas on 28 May.[11]
On 8 June, the band announced on their social media pages, with 4 hours notice, their first live performance in nearly 2 years. This turned out to be a prerecorded webcam broadcast of "Be Safe", featuring Lee Ranaldo performing his spoken word part, from their residences across the world (Ryan in Queens, New York, Gary in Portland, Oregon, Ross in Wakefield and Lee in Manhattan, New York).[12][13]
On 12 August 2020, a day over three years since their last new material 24-7 Rock Star Shit, the band's social media profile pictures changed to a stylised test card. The following day on 13 August 2020, the band announced their return with a new song to be broadcast on BBC Radio 6 Music.[14] The song turned out to be lead single "Running Into You" and subsequently the band announced new album "Night Network" to be released on 13 November 2020, along with artwork, tracklisting and a video for "Running Into You" starring Sam Riley.[15]
The album also marks the return of Lee Ranaldo as guest musician, playing guitar on "I Don't Know Who I Am".
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Goodbye" | 2:39 |
| 2. | "Running Into You" | 2:52 |
| 3. | "Screaming In Suburbia" | 3:49 |
| 4. | "Never Thought I'd Feel Again" | 4:09 |
| 5. | "Deep Infatuation" | 3:24 |
| 6. | "I Don't Know Who I Am (feat. Lee Ranaldo)" | 5:03 |
| 7. | "She's My Style" | 3:11 |
| 8. | "Under The Bus Station Clock" | 2:51 |
| 9. | "The Weather Speaks Your Name" | 4:31 |
| 10. | "Siren Sing-Along" | 3:11 |
| 11. | "Earl & Duke" | 3:43 |
| 12. | "In The Neon Night" | 3:37 |