YOU won't hear a more blatant rip-off of another band's work than this monstrosity.

Not only have The Cribs stolen the look and style of The Strokes, right down to the scuffed trainers, they plagiarise the New Yorkers' brand of rough guitar-pop to an almost comical extent. The fact the trio are from Wakefield doesn't help. A real shame because there is clearly some semblance of talent underneath all the Julian Casablancas-aping.

The album takes the low-budget production style to a new level and sounds as if they squeezed into a potting shed and tape recorded themselves on an early 1980s ghetto blaster. The squeaking riff on Another Number, and the driving power-pop of Your Were Always The One are memorable enough. But it is ultimately a sub-standard Strokes album, as Things You Should Be Knowing and, particularly, Learning How To Fight painfully demonstrate. This is a lesson in uncool.

Updated: 08:41 Thursday, March 25, 2004