In the Belly of the Brazen Bull

In the Belly of the Brazen Bull
In the Belly of the Brazen Bull
Studio album by The Cribs
Released	7 May 2012
Recorded	Tarbox Road, New York City; Abbey Road, London; Electrical Audio, Chicago
Genre	Indie rock, punk rock, alternative rock
Length	47:25
Label	Wichita Recordings; Shock; PIAS; Hostess
Producer	The Cribs, Dave Fridmann, Steve Albini
The Cribs chronology
Singles from In the Belly of the Brazen Bull
	"Chi-Town"; Released: 14 February 2012; "Come on, be a No-One"; Released: 23 April 2012; "Glitters Like Gold"; Released: 22 July 2012; "Anna"; Released: 17 September 2012;

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	70/100^[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
NME	^[2]
Drowned in Sound	^[3]
AllMusic	^[4]
Pitchfork	7.3/10^[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

Gary Jarman – bass guitar, vocals
Ryan Jarman – guitar, vocals
Ross Jarman – percussion

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.	Title	Length
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.	Title	Length
15.	"Eat Me"	3:20

References

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

[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.

[Metacritic_2012-05-15-10] "In the Belly of the Brazen Bull". Metacritic. Metacritic. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2024.

[The_Guardian_2012-05-07-11] "The Cribs: In The Belly of the Brazen Bull – review". The Guardian. The Guardian. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2024.

[Pitchfork_2012-05-07-12] "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] ttps://music.apple.com/us/album/in-the-belly-of-the-brazen-bull/510650137

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v t e The Cribs
Gary Jarman Ross Jarman Ryan Jarman Johnny Marr
Studio albums	The Cribs The New Fellas Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever Ignore the Ignorant In the Belly of the Brazen Bull For All My Sisters 24-7 Rock Star Shit Night Network
Singles	"Hey Scenesters!" "You're Gonna Lose Us" "Men's Needs" "Moving Pictures" "Don't You Wanna Be Relevant? / Our Bovine Public" "I'm a Realist" "Cheat on Me" "We Share the Same Skies" "So Hot Now / Separate" "Housewife" "Chi-Town" "Come on, be a No-One" "Glitters Like Gold" "Anna"