The Cribs Perform Live on the Interface

Cribs bassist/vocalist Gary Jarman can't remember if he's ever been cheated on. "Well, maybe I've been," he tells Spinner during a recent Interface taping in our L.A. studio, before settling on a "no, never" answer. Like the post-punk band's previous hits, 'Hey Scenesters!' and 'Men's Needs,' which landed the Wakefield, England natives on previous year-end best lists in both the U.S. and across the pond, the Cribs' fourth studio album, 'Ignore the Ignorant,' channels similar catchy and melodic riffs and refrains, especially with lead track 'Cheat on Me.'

"It's more of a metaphor," Gary continues. "It's about various things that you just find difficult to get your head around, I guess, rather than anything else. I hate using the term catharsis with reference to songs cause it's so overused, but yeah, maybe it's just that."

What used to be a band of brothers -- Jarman, his twin Ryan on guitar and little brother Ross on drums -- has morphed into a four-piece after former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr jumped aboard in 2008. The addition was interesting considering the Cribs were achieving a successful, cult-like status without the push of the chameleon guitarist (Marr's previous stints included playing with Modest Mouse and John Frusciante). "Me and Johnny don't wear socks," shares Gary. "That was what gave us a connection when we first met. I don't know that was something we had in common." While the Jarmans admit they can't imagine not having Marr in the band, especially when it comes to Marr's resilience for fixing clothes -- "He's repaired a few t-shirts for me," adds Gary -- it's little brother Ross who is responsible for the 'Behind the Music' moment that put 'Ignore the Ignorant' in jeopardy.

"That was just stupid, really. I mean not to call Ross stupid. Ross can't skateboard, he never has, and he's really tall and then he just decided to skateboard the day before we started tracking the record, which was kind of a ridiculous idea," Gary says of the accident that nearly sidelined the project. "Sure enough he broke his wrist." In Ross' defense, the hill was high.

"The story is not in the breaking of the wrist," adds Ryan. "It's the fact that he just carried on and recorded the record. They wanted to put a cast on, but he knew that would prevent him from being able to play drums, so he just did a week's worth of drumming and went and got the cast on. And he got it down in a week. We don't know how he did it." While Ross might have slipped from his older brothers' eyes that fine sunny, Los Angeles day before recording 'Ignore the Ignorant,' Gary and Ryan have always had their little brother's back.

"We would hand off records to him," Gary says of introducing Ross to music at an early age. "He was like the coolest kid in his class. There's something really amazing about having a kid in the band who you could tell what to do."

Jokes Ryan, "That was one of the reasons we wanted him."