Black Country, New Road - Ants From Up There ALBUM REVIEW
No, let the plane out of the bag, they’re gonna suffocate in there!!
At the time of writing this, today is the first anniversary of British post-punk outfit Black Country, New Road’s magnificent debut album, For the first time. For context, that was one of the first albums I officially gave a perfect score, and honestly, it’s stayed that way ever since. I’ve avoided the singles for this album successfully and I haven’t even heard the leaked live performances because I’m simply that excited for this. I did get a little scared about this just before its release. The frontman of the group, Isaac Wood, left the group due to mental health reasons and cancelled the international tour they were set to embark on. Obviously, mental health is a huge issue and I respect the choice Wood made with his group. However, Wood is the vocalist of the group and a very dynamic performer. It wouldn’t affect this album, but what about their future? Either way, Ants From Up There is finally here. Let’s get into my thoughts on it.
Honestly, I’ve come back to this a few times and I even rewrote it a couple times, and I cannot put my finger on it. How are they so good at this? I mean, there are six people in the group, so it’s no surprise that the instrumentation here is fantastic. Wood’s voice is fantastic and, like their last album, his delivery is sublime. The storytelling here is also great, no surprise there either. Even song structure, a thing I normally don’t focus on in my reviews, is something that the group continues to innovate. I’d say a big new element of this album is the more-prominent jazz influences, with more instruments bring brought into the fray on these songs. With that change brings a new, fiery emotion that I think For the first time lacked in some aspects. That’s exactly what I’ve wanted from BC,NR: Successful additions to a winning formula. It works here, and Ants From Up There is all the better for it. Overall, Ants From Up There is perfection and most likely one of my favorite albums ever now. Black Country, New Road usher in a new era of rock music.
10/10
Listen here
YouTube Music
Ants From Up There is a Ninja Tune release.
At the time of writing this, today is the first anniversary of British post-punk outfit Black Country, New Road’s magnificent debut album, For the first time. For context, that was one of the first albums I officially gave a perfect score, and honestly, it’s stayed that way ever since. I’ve avoided the singles for this album successfully and I haven’t even heard the leaked live performances because I’m simply that excited for this. I did get a little scared about this just before its release. The frontman of the group, Isaac Wood, left the group due to mental health reasons and cancelled the international tour they were set to embark on. Obviously, mental health is a huge issue and I respect the choice Wood made with his group. However, Wood is the vocalist of the group and a very dynamic performer. It wouldn’t affect this album, but what about their future? Either way, Ants From Up There is finally here. Let’s get into my thoughts on it.
Honestly, I’ve come back to this a few times and I even rewrote it a couple times, and I cannot put my finger on it. How are they so good at this? I mean, there are six people in the group, so it’s no surprise that the instrumentation here is fantastic. Wood’s voice is fantastic and, like their last album, his delivery is sublime. The storytelling here is also great, no surprise there either. Even song structure, a thing I normally don’t focus on in my reviews, is something that the group continues to innovate. I’d say a big new element of this album is the more-prominent jazz influences, with more instruments bring brought into the fray on these songs. With that change brings a new, fiery emotion that I think For the first time lacked in some aspects. That’s exactly what I’ve wanted from BC,NR: Successful additions to a winning formula. It works here, and Ants From Up There is all the better for it. Overall, Ants From Up There is perfection and most likely one of my favorite albums ever now. Black Country, New Road usher in a new era of rock music.
10/10
Listen here
YouTube Music
Ants From Up There is a Ninja Tune release.
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