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Free Download: The Cribs’ New Song with Johnny Marr

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He helped Modest Mouse climb to the top of the indie rock mountain. Can Johnny Marr do the same for retro-minded British punk trio the Cribs?

Well, it’s time to find out. The Cribs — with Marr officially joining brothers Ryan, Ross, and Gary Jarman as a full-fledged band member — are offering up “We Were Aborted,” the first track from Ignore the Ignorant, their fourth album, as a free download via their official website. It’s available through tomorrow, July 8, at 10 A.M. GMT, or 5 A.M. EST. You’ll have to submit your email address to get the download link.

Not surprisingly, Marr’s guitar work on “We Were Aborted” ascends to peaks never before reached by the gritty, no-nonsense Jarmans, whose excellent but unrefined pub punk anthems leaned more on rowdy bravado than technical skill. Marr’s sprightly lead riff recalls the mid-’90s indie rock of Afghan Whigs, and even a bit of Eddie Van Halen’s “Van Hagar”-era sheen.

Download the track for yourself and tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Ignore the Ignorant is out Sept. 7 in the U.K. A spokesperson for the band told SPIN.com that the album’s U.S. release, via Warner Bros., is planned for late 2009 or early 2010.