Cribs surprise assault planned.

Kapranos-produced album expected to elevate band to loftier commercial heights

THE CRIBS MEN'S NEEDS, WOMEN'S NEEDS, WHATEVER (WICHITA)

One of indie pop's best-kept secrets will soon be let out of the bag, as Wichita Recordings prepares to release The Cribs' third and most commercially viable album to date.

The label believes new album Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever, produced by Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos and released on May 21, has the potential to reach a more diverse audience than their previous offerings.

"There is a really genuine excitement around the new record," says Wichita product manager Mark Bowen. "It's pretty rare for a band to get to their third album and still be genuinely growing - not just making better records artistically, but also commercially. We're feeling that with this record the band will be getting their commercial dues."

Prior to the album's release, Wichita will issue new single Men's Needs on May 14, both digitally and physically. All formats will contain an extra track recorded with Kapranos, plus remixes by CSS, Goose and Minotaur Shock. Wichita is holding back on releasing any product before the single in order to create an element of surprise around the band's return.

"This band is going to surprise a lot of people when they come back," says Bowen. "We hope that by concentrating everything into that first week we can give people a better indication of just how big the band ...