They may sound like one of those shit southern dad rock bands, but don’t let the name Black Country, New Road put you off as this young English chamber rock ensemble are changing the landscape of contemporary rock and alternative music.
Equal parts King Crimson, Godspeed, Arcade Fire, Black Midi and something else entirely, BC, NR seemingly came out of nowhere on the promise of a couple of wild and lengthy singles at the start of this decade.
Signing to legendary electronic-leaning UK label Ninja Tune, their 2021 debut album For The First Time was a surprise storm; an unhinged whirlwind of chaos, noise, post-rock, math rock, seething violins, dreamlike woodwind, manic brass and the bizarre stream-of-consciousness ranting and raving of vocalist and lyricist Isaac Wood taking the centre stage.
In just forty short minutes, BC, NR’s debut album blew me apart listen after listen and left me wanting so much more each time. Ants From Up There leaves me feeling full and then some, running at just shy of an hour. The septet have knuckled down and expanded their vision so perfectly, using that extra running time to expand the sonic space, their dynamic structures and control their chaos, resulting in a record that is brighter, bolder and more complete.
Listening back to their debut after many listens of this follow up, I can see clearer now that some of the tracks on that album were more sporadic and loosely tied together. Though not a bad thing, the three act nine minute anthem ‘Sunglasses’ traversed through more clever ideas than one song could handle, and there isn’t really a song quite as loose and free-form as this here, as exhilarating as that song is.
If For The First Time was a suffering artist blurting out to their therapist their most dangerous thoughts and darkest secrets, then Ants From Up There is a calm; an acceptance; the sound of a troubled soul working through their hardships. This sentiment could apply to the septet as a whole, or even the idiosyncratic, enigmatic voice that is Isaac Wood.