Peel Sessions 1987 / 1988 vinyl

The Cribs have a lot riding on this one, having hit a career-plateau with 2017's just-decent-enough 24-7 Rock Star Shit and spent several years soul searching amid management disputes. It's also the record they made in California after being invited out by Dave Grohl, who recognised a band in dire need of escaping from the industrial side of the music business. So the strength of this record, and its reception, could do wonders or cause more damage.

Thankfully it's a big step in the right direction, and opening track 'Goodbye' can even be read as a final farewell to difficult days gone by. It's hard not to buy into the idea, too, given the song is a curveball wave of surf pop nobody was expecting. Freshness that certainly sets the tone, although with wholly Cribs-ian work like 'Running Into You' and 'The Weather Sparks Your Name' militant fans shouldn't worry, either.