If you've never heard of this band, consider yourself extremely lucky. This outlet is one of the best, most innovative, progressive, technically gifted and unique groups ever. On top of that, even thought they already have a rich discography, thanks to their three studio albums and one live album, their best years are still ahead of them. This band right now has six incredible musicians; Lewis Evans on the saxophone, Charlie Wayne on the drums, Luke Mark as the guitarist, Tyler Hyde as the bassist and May Kershaw as the piano/keys player. There was once a time when it was seven of them, however, ex front-man Isaac Wood left the band due to personal reasons back in 2022. More about that and everything about this amazing band later. Right now, let me introduce you to a brand new series that I'm starting! It's called "Exploring - *name of the artist*" and it's only fitting for the first deep dive to be about one of my favorite bands ever - Black Country, New Road.
Black Country, New Road (BC,NR) is an English based band that makes music sound like it should sound. Throughout their career they have made everything from post-punk to chamber pop. No matter the genre they go for, you can be sure that you are going to be blown away by their unmatched creativity and ability to make even the saddest notes imaginable sound beautiful. The group formed back in 2018, all of the members were friends who shared one same passion - music. At the begging, they only made songs out of a hobby, and that's the reason why each and every song they have made sounds this good. They still see music as a hobby, like something they want to do, not something they need to do. They make songs for themselves, not for fans, for labels or live shows, they are selfish. They want to have fun while they create.
So, how did it all start for BC,NR? They built a small, but dedicated fanbases thanks to their energetic live shows they did when they opened for another great British band, Black Midi. Fans loved their "realness" and how much they could relate to each and every member. All of that led to the band releasing their debut single titled "Athens, France" on the 19th of January 2019. The single was a huge success, which only gave the band more confidence to release their second single, "Sunglasses" not long after. That might be the turning point, because "Sunglasses" made a boom in the underground rock scene, even making journalists as well as critics turn their heads to the track. By many, that single is one of their best tracks ever, even today.
After that massive hit, the group released some other unique and interesting singles such as "Science Fair" and "Track X" before announcing their debut LP titled "For The First Time", an album that was recorded during the COVID-19 lockdown era. It peaked at the number 4 position on British charts, and it became their first number-one release on the UK Independent Albums Chart. Running for 40 minutes and having six tracks, with four of them being already released as singles, "For The First Time" was a great way to introduce the whole world to Black Country, New Road.
The sound of this thing is dark, menacing, heavy, brutal yet also pretty and poetic. Each and every second on this LP has it's purpose. Every song is filled with the personality of the front-man, Isaac Wood, his unique voice and interesting lyrics that always tell a bizarre story gave soul to "For The First Time". All of the already released singles have been re-worked, so they sounded fresh, almost like brand new songs. To this day fans debate whether the single, more raw version of "Sunglasses" is better than the studio version of the same track, that is more polished and energetic. Two new songs we got to hear on this album are it's opener, "Instrumental" and it's closer, "Opus". You only have one chance to guess what kind of song "Instrumental" is. If you said that "Instrumental" is an instrumental, then you are kind off right. "Instrumental" isn't your every day instrumental, it's a song on which every member, apart from Isaac, showcase their full potential. The song ends on an extremely high note, the star of the show is Lewis Evans, who made saxophone sound like a really heavy guitar.
"Opus" actually really reminds me of native Balkan music to be honest, probably because of that up tempo trumpet and horns, as well as the violin. The track is still heavy though, even without a clear out drum and guitar classic beatdown. BC,NR make the atmosphere so intense that you feel like you are on the edge of your seat. That feeling lasts for the entire 8-minute runtime this track has.
There was a 364 days long break between their debut and sophomore studio projects. A lot has happened in that time. Before band released their current magnum-opus, an album that is by many considered a modern classic and a highly acclaimed LP, the fans were met with crushing news. Isaac left the band 4 days before "Ants From Up There" saw the light of day. Due to personal reasons, Isaac decided to part ways with the band, putting them in a very difficult positions. The way he wrote songs, the emotion in his voice and his guitar skills were the face of the band. Imagine having to continue to exist without your face. That's what Black Country, New Road had to do. If anything, Isaac at least left on an extremely high note.
Everything clicked on "Ants From Up There". I believe this is how music was meant to sound. Everything about this record is perfect, you really can not find a single bad thing about it. Many bands dream of ever creating an album that is half as good as this one. This record is crushing, it's emotional weight mixed with absolutely incredible riffs and sounds those instruments made result in a true masterpiece that you can not hate even if you tried your hardest. No matter what genre of music you prefer, you will get lost in the beauty of "Ants From Up There". On one hand you have "Chaos Space Marine" and "Good Will Hunting", romantic, pretty songs that offer a whimsical type of sound that can only provoke happiness in your soul. On the other hand you have tracks like "Bread Song" or "Haldern", both of which offer incredible stories, lyrics, instrumentation and are filled with soul wrenching emotions. There's also "Snow Globes" a 9-minute ballad that eventually devours you entirely, leaving nothing behind. A slow burner, for sure, that takes it's time and doesn't show it's teeth before it's too late for you to defend from it's overwhelming emotions and overall existence.
"The Place Where He Inserted the Blade" would be the best track this band has ever created if it wasn't for the closer of this album, "Basketball Shoes". Let's try and focus on the earlier mentioned track first though, because it's a combination of everything I already talked about. It has the romance of "Good Will Hunting", whimsical vibes of "Chaos Space Marine", incredibly smart song writing just like "Bread Song", heavy instruments that "Haldern" already offered as well as the emotional heaviness of "Snow Globes". "The Place Where He Inserted the Blade" is a terrifying track which main themes are love, inability to let go, overthinking... "I tried to stroke your dreams better, but darling, I see, you are not really sleeping", "Every time I tried to make lunch for anyone else, I end up dreaming of you, and you come to me - good morning." "I get lost, I freak out, you come home and hold me tight as if nothing happened at all - good morning." All of these lyrics are drenched in pain, suffering and agony. Imagine being that badly, hopelessly in love, that you dream of a person, both while you sleep and while you are awake. Isaac really painted a truly vivid picture here, but without the incredible instrumental the rest of the band provided, this would just be another sad love song. Each instrument is utilized to their full potential, making "The Place Where He Inserted The Blade" stand out as one of the best rock songs probably ever.
But my God... "Basketball Shoes", the last song from this album and the last song Isaac ever sang live absolutely blows everything out of water. Words can not begin to describe the absolute greatness of this amazing track. It's my current best song of this century, and you are not crazy even if you think it's one of the best of all time. Pure emotion. That's this song. It sounds like something straight out of a movie. It's so cinematic yet still deeply, deeply personal for Isaac. "Basketball Shoes" is a 12-minute track that has three parts, each being different. First one is their classic post-punk-ish type of sound, the second is almost pop-punk/emo, and the third one that has the final crescendo is just... Unbelievable. Last 3 and a half minutes of this song is for sure the best music ever created. It's so heavy, so tiring, emotional and just huge, but also vulnerable and intimate. Once everything gets crazy and loud, you get overwhelmed by the sheer brilliance of the band. Those guitars, the piano, back up vocals, and those powerful drums make a hell like as well as heaven like atmosphere on which Isaac delivers one of the best vocal performances ever.
So, what now? What can you do once you release a record of that quality? And not only that, the star of the show also left you, is it time to break up? Not only the fans, but the band mates also thought about it. Who wouldn't let's all be honest. Luckily for all of us, they said no. Thanks to the power of their friendship, after a short break, BC,NR got back to creating more epic music. It wasn't that long before we heard some new tracks from them. On the 24th of March 2023, band released their first and as of my writing this only live album, "Live at Bush Hall"
"Live At Bush Hall" had 8 new, never before heard songs from the British outlet. It was never confirmed if these songs were ever meant to be on a studio album, or if all of them were labeled as "not good enough". However, no one was complaining. It was hard to imagine Black Country, New Road without Isaac, but on the first song of their first effort without him you get remembered that you should have never doubted the band - "look at what we did together, BC,NR friend forever!" all of them shouted together, reminding us that they more than just musicians, they are friends who only happen to be insanely talented. May Kershaw and Tyler Hyde were the main vocalists now, giving the band a much, much, much more softer side now. Not only did the vocals change, the entire vibe of the band change from a dark, moody storm, to a soft sun on a spring day. Like a breath of fresh air, something that was needed regardless after making an album as emotionally heavy as "Ants From Up There".
After "Live At Bush Hall" there was radio silence from the band for the entire 2024, making it the first year since they formed when they did not release a single second of new music. The draught wasn't long though, as they announced their next album "Forever Howlong" in late January of 2025. "Besties", "Happy Birthday" and "For The Cold Country" were the singles for the record, all of the gradually being better than the one before. "For The Cold Country" is honestly their third best song ever in my opinion, May Kershaw absolutely killed the vocals, as well as the piano.
On the 4th of April the band released their highly anticipated album that was met with polarizing reactions. A lot of the people were angry when they heard the change of the sound, many were confused, me included. Like, what do you mean, there isn't any "incel-core" songs anymore?? It was bound to happen though. The entire vibe of the band changed, and if their live album wasn't enough to convince you, then the singles should have done the job. By no means do I think "Forever Howlong" is a bad album, but it is for sure their "worst" studio project up to date. I think it's fine, apart from the magical "For The Cold Country" which is, once again, beyond perfect, there's also tracks such as "Socks", "Nancy Tries To Take The Night" and "Two Horses", all of which absolutely showcases the insane ability each and every member of this band has. It is nice to hear them in a different light, but we all already kind of knew that, right? I feel like they still need time to find their own, new, unique sound. Im sure it will happen eventually, and I'm sure BC,NR is the only band still active that could top "Ants From Up There". If you have somehow never listened to this band, do yourself a favor and listen to all of their albums right now.
MY RATINGS FOR BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD ALBUMS: "For The First Time" - 9/10 "Ants From Up There" - 10/10 "Live From Bush Hall" - 7/10 "Forever Howlong"- 8/10