In the lead up to Night Network, out via Sonic Blew on November 13, The Cribs have released their second single ‘I Don’t Know Who I Am’. This follows August’s ‘Running Into You’, although they differ in tone. While ‘Running Into You’ is trademark Cribs, with a tongue-in-cheek video about consumerism and the Cribs-mania that they predicted for their return, ‘I Don’t Know Who I Am’ is far more introspective. Its accompanying video is filled with themes of self-improvement, striking a contrast with the lightly ironic tone of the previous single – you can watch it below.
What’s so special about ‘I Don’t Know Who I Am’ is that it reunites the Jarman family with Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo. Long time Cribs fans will remember him as the voice of the impassioned monologue on the unexpected Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever-hit ‘Be Safe’. The band called on him to lend some magic to ‘I Don’t Know Who I Am’ because they recognised similarities between their latest work and the 2007 collaboration.
This is why The Cribs think the two are similar: “‘I Don’t Know Who I Am’ (although ultimately quite different) came together in much the same way as ‘Be Safe’ did back in 2006 – we had a recording of a long, improvised noise-jam which we then tried to refine into a more cohesive song structure.
“Due to the similarities in the writing process, it made us think of Lee again…we had initially requested that he play noise guitar over the track, because we wanted to keep it somewhat abstract and create the impression of the melodies just kind of emerging out of the static…but he went beyond the call of duty and also added some beautiful vocal harmonies too, out at the Sonic Youth studio in New Jersey.” (The Sonic Youth studio in New Jersey is probably always the place to be).
Incidentally, Night Network has seen the inside of some very cool studios: the rest of the album was recorded at Dave Grohl’s 606 Studios in Los Angeles. This happened because Grohl invited the band to LA and told them to forget about the complications of 24-7 Rock Star Shit (2017 album which resulted in some unpleasant legal disputes for the band) and just start making music.
Feels so good to be back with Lee again – and good to see you guys were waiting for that day too! Thanks to everyone for listening/sharing/watching. You guys are the best https://t.co/yRF8aNsIew
— The Cribs (@thecribs) September 21, 2020
The latest single is perhaps not as sharp as we’ve come to expect from The Cribs over the years. Its sense of confusion is intrinsic to what they’re saying, though. The title betrays an identity conflict immediately, and the lyrics cover some difficult themes about identity and family relationships, which the single makes an admirable effort to tackle.
The band say this about its subject matter: “Lyrically, the song addresses the disconnect that Ryan and myself have always had with our biological paternal lineage – and how that may have shaped our views on masculinity, gender roles, and the men we ultimately grew up to be.”
Ranaldo and the Cribs actually already reunited once this year, to rerecord a lockdown version of ‘Be Safe’ (this means it’s filmed on Zoom). The 2007 song really is something of a masterpiece, though. It is unmistakably The Cribs, but it’s also like nothing else they’ve done since. The Cribs X Lee Ranaldo is perhaps a bit of an unexpected collaboration, but what a dream team they turned out to be, in 2007 and again in 2020.
Night Network tracklist:
1. Goodbye
2. Running Into You
3. Screaming In Suburbia
4. Never Thought I’d Feel Again
5. Deep Infatuation
6. I Don’t Know Who I Am (feat. Lee Ranaldo)
7. She’s My Style
8. Under The Bus Station Clock
9. The Weather Speaks Your Name
10. Siren Sing-Along
11. Earl & Duke
12. In The Neon Night
