The Cribbler

Out of a fantasy forest filled with tall towers comes crawling The Cribbler.

With titles like Oesti the Iceman, The Mirror and I am the Weather, his songs share with The Incredible String Band a mystical, whimsical and transcendental nature.
His lyrical content dances around from the surreal and absurd to the prosaic to simply stating how it is. A deft, technical, finger-picking style reveals his heroes as John Renbourne, and Bert Jansch, and there’s a touch of Syd Barrett in his child-like absurdity, revealed in a song where sausages act as ‘Mother’s Medicine’ for a mardy child.

“Pinned to our seats The Cribbler amused with some fine story based songs including the unusually titled Long Nail and Big Toe about an eventful camping trip. There’s not enough story based songs around these days. Good work Mr Cribbler. Not a mention of meat neither…
(Gig Junkies on Moseley Folk Festival performance 2011)

I Wish I Was Ueshiba (in Blackpool) is an unrequited love song that turns nasty on Blackpool Beach with the entrance of a bunch of knife wielding thugs. Throughout the song there is swishing refrain/mantra that name checks The Cribbler’s hero, Morehi Ueshiba, the developer of Aikido. In the song Drinking For A Day there’s humour, tinged with sadness and desperation.

His emotionally complex, literary-heavy craftings make The Cribbler a refreshing change from happy-clappy folk-pop offerings, and Bohemian Jukebox is proud to have him on board.