You never quite know what to expect when starting a new Black Country, New Road song. In their new project “Forever Howlong”, this has never been more the case. Like many, I first stumbled upon the band with their 2022 album entitled “Ants From Up There”. Grandiose yet highly vulnerable, the project shook the world of alternative music upon release and only grew more famous when lead singer, Isaac Wood, left the group a few days after release on account of personal reasons. Going into this new project, there were a lot of questions of how the band would fill the absence of one of their most important voices. Thankfully, the singles for this album quickly drowned out any worries. The first single entitled “Besties” started with an almost medieval sound that was quickly elevated with harmonies and drums before cutting into a stripped back vocal and guitar part. These few seconds perfectly sum up the sonic spaces to be explored in this varied and complicated project. It is campy and silly, but with this undertone of serious artistic intent; whimsical yet poetic. The lyrics are delivered by Georgia Ellery which is a first for the band, but the song leaves you wondering why she was not a featured singer sooner. She croons lyrics about the space between friends and lovers with unique embellishments that complement the band perfectly.
On my first listen, the song “Two Horses” immediately made me pause and restart the track. It opens with a nostalgic, classical guitar and vocals by Ellery that speak of loneliness and despair. It feels familiar, like a song from childhood. Muted horns help the song build as bass deepens the sound before introducing a piano. From here, we build into a much larger song as the themes change to the narrator finding a potential partner. The instrumentation becomes more complicated with a particularly exceptional bass and drum beat switch in the bridge. Complex harmonies complement this shift as eventually this new lover shows his true intentions and makes Georgia skeptical of love as a whole. With this, the song fades out with the lyrics “just let me fall”, alluding to giving up on love. A friend of mine had the pleasure of hearing this album early at a show in London. When I asked what I should expect out of the project, he instantly said to be ready for the track “For the Cold Country”. This song starts off quite like a lot of the songs on the project; an acoustic and emotional ballad that focuses on complex harmonies and interesting melodies. Before the listener can notice the build, the song picks up quite a bit. The track really gains a beat as each strike delivers an increase in energy.
Contrary to what the prior implies, right as the track would seemingly explode into a classic BC,NR instrumental, it slows back down and really makes the listener work for it. Before we know, it is back to just vocals and underlying harmonies, then an even slower vocal with classical guitar, and right as it feels like the song may end, there is a shift. Drums pick up. Vocals louden. Electric guitars start to strike. In the blink of an eye, the song becomes a rock opera of epic proportions. It builds and builds until the drums lead all the instruments into a beautiful chaos. This explosion of music is only made more impactful by the return to harmonies in the outro. This calm after the storm gives the listener a moment to reflect on the journey the band has taken them on. While I could talk at length about the other great songs on this project, words can only do them so much justice. Simply put, Black Country, New Road is a hard act to describe. No amount of adjectives or metaphors could encapsulate how campy, profound, and interesting this record is. An album for reflection, I recommend that everyone gives it a listen as Spring takes full swing.
- Thomas W. Hagan
