Tom Cribb is a songwriting singer hailing from New Zealand, now based in Melbourne, an everyman guitarist and storyteller bringing a grassroots approach to the music he makes. Years spent floating through various industries, working any job just to get by, have galvanised his sound into a wash of heartaches and squandered potential.

A childhood injury that forced him to relearn guitar left-handed in his 20's became both a physical and emotional rewiring that shaped the raw, human quality that runs through his songs. Cribb writes with an edge of honesty and vulnerability, offset by dry humour and a quiet search for silver linings.

His debut album Garbage Time is a mostly true reflection of a life lived in the aftermath: couch surfing, leaving relationships, dead ends, and drifting through the fallout. Influenced by blue-collar jobs, women, cowboys, the ills of excess, and a certain gutter-poet lifestyle, the record leans into existentialism without losing its warmth.

The songwriting carries echoes of artists such as Leonard Cohen, Big Thief, Harry Nilsson, and Father John Misty, dusted with stylings of folk, indie, and jazz. Bittersweet vocals slow-dance over fingerpicking that skips like a stone, delivered through largely organic, minimal production.

Co-produced by beloved New Zealand artist Casual Healing, the album was recorded in Wellington in July 2025 at Te Whare Chur Studios over the span of one week. The chemistry between both artists is palpable, a seamless collaboration that offers a warm, unvarnished welcome into Cribb's musical world.

Release

GARBAGE TIME

Recorded

Te Whare Chur, Wellington

Co-produced

Nikau Te Huki (Casual Healing)

Written & performed

Tom Cribb

Mastered

Downbeat Mastering