THE CRIBS share new single 'A Point Too Hard To Make' and announce huge outdoor show at Leeds Millennium Square | New album 'Selling A Vibe' out January 9th

Photo credit: Steve Gullick

The Cribs are today sharing new single 'A Point Too Hard To Make' alongside news of a huge outdoor show next summer, as they return to Leeds Millennium Square on 11th July. The show also marks ten years since the band last performed in the Square, when they were memorably joined by Thurston Moore. 'A Point Too Hard To Make' is the latest track to emerge from the highly-anticipated forthcoming album Selling A Vibe, out 9th January.

Pre-sale for the Leeds Millennium Square show begins this Wednesday 29th October at 9am. General sale begins this Friday 31st October at 9am.

Selling A Vibe marks their first full length release in over five years, with August's lead single 'Summer Seizures' seeing a deservedly passionate response from fans and media alike. Its follow-up 'A Point Too Hard To Make' pairs chiming guitars with the classically Cribs call-and-response dual vocal approach. That characteristic feels all the more poignant given the album's themes of rediscovering what's most important about their relationship, and the touching embrace between brothers Gary and Ryan at the end of the video. Bassist and vocalist Gary Jarman comments on the new single:

"All that 2000’s damage, basically. Small-town romantics - years spent longing for connection, escape, excitement - given in abundance, for an entire decade. What do you do when the party is over? Where does it leave you? We will let you know if/when we get there. We’ve still got each other though. That’s what this one is about, a bit of a kitchen-sinker, really."

Pre-order upcoming album Selling A Vibe HERE.

The Cribs UK headline tour 2026

(with support from Courting)

18 Mar - Boiler Shop, Newcastle, UK - Tickets here

20 Mar - Foundry, Sheffield, UK - SOLD OUT

21 Mar - Albert Hall, Manchester, UK - SOLD OUT

22 Mar – O2 Institute 1, Birmingham, UK - Tickets here

24 Mar - Rock City, Nottingham, UK - Tickets here

25 Mar - Tramshed, Cardiff, UK - Tickets here

27 Mar - Concorde 2, Brighton, UK **SECOND NIGHT ADDED**

28 Mar - Concorde 2, Brighton, UK - SOLD OUT

11 July - Millennium Square, Leeds, UK - Tickets here

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For the three Jarman brothers, The Cribs has always been a heart-on-sleeve endeavour, documenting a realness and honesty, imbued with a raw spirit and a love for pop melodies, that winks with a healthy skepticism at a world increasingly weighed down by quantity over quality, style over substance. You need only look as far as the new album title for evidence of that. It can be argued though that with Selling A Vibe, that honesty is increasingly turned in the direction of each other, the first time they have so openly done so on one of their records.

With a feeling in the camp that the band were stuck on the release-tour-release-tour treadmill, and with the brothers living apart across three timezones, they knew they needed to revive the essence of their relationship as family, and get away from solely feeling like band members. A summer spent together with no music, no writing, just reconnection proved the perfect place to start that process, something they say they're grateful for the opportunity to do after 20 years together making music.

If behind the scenes Selling A Vibe became about a return to truer relationships, the goal with producer Patrick Wimberly was very much about not reverting to type. Having worked with bucket-list rock producers on previous albums – Edwyn Collins, Alex Kapranos, Nick Launay, Dave Fridmann, Steve Albini, and Ric Ocasek to name a few – the appointment of former Chairlift man Patrick Wimberly for Selling A Vibe came from a place of continued curiosity, possibility, and adventure. They wanted to work with someone who operated in a more contemporary way, and Wimberly’s list of production credits (Solange, MGMT, Lil Yachty) more than caught the eye. “We’d always said if we made another record we would specifically focus on enhancing the pop element of the band, so Patrick's way of working and experience in that realm seemed a great fit whilst also being a completely new experience”. For The Cribs, it wasn’t about recapturing lightning-in-a-bottle moments of yore, it was about breaking the bottle entirely and seeing what could be inside. That meant a slower, more considered recording process, and time in the studio to indulge their love of melody. Selling A Vibe becomes a record not only anchored in reconnection, but one put together to illicit that same response.

Bassist and vocalist Gary Jarman says: "I think as time has gone by our albums have become more and more open - and as such the songs on Selling A Vibe feel very personal. So it can be nerve wracking releasing them because they matter so much to us. I know that may sound overly romantic or idealistic, but ultimately - it's the only thing that matters when all is said and done. Did we connect with people? We don’t want this to be seen as an “indie rock” record or a “punk” record or whatever - all those things that used to seem to matter to us - our only hope is that people enjoy and connect with the songs and lyrics for what they are. We want them to be for everyone, really. And as such, I suppose you could say that makes it our most ambitious album, as we have fully given ourselves over to that. In short, we sincerely hope you enjoy it."

Key to the band’s creative output is that they now only release music when it feels like they have something new to contribute. A new record needs to add something to their, and their fans lives. In this case, the renewal of treasured relationships seems as good a reason as any for their return after a five-year absence.