More about: Black Country New Road

Black Country, New Road are about to go from a seven-piece musical collective to a six-piece. But not before they drop a sonic masterpiece in Ants From Up There. With vocalist Isaac Wood’s imminent resignation announced just four days prior to the record’s release, this is the final project that will come from the band in its original form. 

Since releasing their debut album For The First Time in 2021, Black Country, New Road have enjoyed both a cult following and widespread critical acclaim. So, the pressure was on when it came to their sophomore release. And, on Ants From Up There, the band prove they’re not ones to disappoint. 

Breaking down the structures that curtail the thinking of so many modern artists is a theme that’s chimed loudly throughout Black Country, New Road’s journey. But, it’s on their second release where they truly seem to escape music’s binaries. In the most fantastic way, the tracks are a collection of surreal oddities that clatter, jangle and pounce on you without ever sounding out of place. ‘Chaos Space Marine’ fuses the familiar sounds of classical music alongside big band percussion and traces of psychedelic folk, and it just works. 

‘Concorde’ and ‘Bread Song’ are more measured offerings. The first embraces plodding, country-like guitars and the metaphor of the ‘Concorde Fallacy’ to successfully portray the yearning for a lost relationship. Meanwhile ‘Bread Song’s’ minimalist approach with undulating guitars and floating drum beats has the potential to put you in a trance. 

If there’s any track on Ants From Up There that crosses into the pop dimension, it’s ‘Good Will Hunting’. Still retaining swirling folk and post-rock sounds, ‘Good Will Hunting’ is the record’s most mainstream-friendly song. But Black Country, New Road don’t stay in that space for long: ‘Mark's Theme’ is strictly a not-pop moment. The poignant instrumental is a short eulogy to saxophonist Lewis Evans’s late uncle, who died of COVID-19 during the pandemic. Opening with an engulfing saxophone solo performed by Evans himself, ‘Mark’s Theme’ is a graceful memorial that not only adds stark emotional depth to the album but also showcases the band’s intricate ability to capture moments through sound.

‘The Place Where He Inserted the Blade’ and the 12-minute track ‘Basketball Shoes’ conclude the album as if it were a movie. With cinematic storytelling, musical crescendos that mimic the climax of a narrative and comprehensive sonic resolutions that tie up every loose end, Black Country, New Road complete their second album with no experimental stones unturned. 

Often, bands release an album, and it’s overly familiar, like you’ve heard it all before. But Black Country, New Road prove that there is still much to uncover through music, just as long as you’re prepared to take enough of a risk. 

As Isaac Wood steps away from Black Country, New Road and the band embark on a new path together, the release is bittersweet. Bitter because the trail ends here for the current incarnation of Black Country, New Road who have proved themselves as an exquisite musical unit. But, sweet because nothing could take away from the true artistry the sevem-piece achieve on Ants From Up There.

Ants From Up There arrives 4 February via Ninja Tune.

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More about: Black Country New Road