Black Country, New Road — Ants From Up There — Album Review
Alternative | Indie | Folk
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Music
One thing is for certain; the British alternative rock outfit known as Black Country, New Road certainly got off to one hell of a start.
In 2021, their debut album, titled For the first time, stood as one of the more memorable moments of that highly generous musical year. Even before its release, that album was met with high anticipation, as a result of how fresh and exciting the band sounded. In regards of said anticipation, the same could definitely be said for their sophomore project, released one year later.
Ants From Up There is the second studio album from Black Country, New Road, but also the last to feature the vocals of ex-member Isaac Wood. With the announcement being made shortly before the albums release, it did add another layer of the album for me to appreciate going into it.
While, in the case of For the first time, I was treated to an entirely fresh experience, I did get to listen to the teaser track that stood as the start of this new album cycle. By the sounds of many of them, I picked up on an almost folk-like element to their musicality this time around.
I found this to be not only refreshing, but also a great creative decision when you put into consideration the insane level of chemistry the band has. This more stripped-back and authentic-sounding style really brought out the seamless musical fluidity and chemistry that’s shared between each of the members.
And much like the album that preceded it, Ants From Up There is full of intriguing lyrics from Isaac Wood. Of course, it’s trickier than most other albums to piece together a concise narrative about, but Ants From Up There is fundamentally focused on style. The band had essentially re-worked the way they played music together, and it sure pays off on an album like this one.
On the surface, before diving into this musical experience, the lengthy duration of most of these tracks did have me somewhat weary. And while a select few did lose their grip on me eventually, I’m still glad to say that a good majority of the tracks on here drew me in to the point where I wasn’t paying much attention at all to how much of the song was left.
As an experience overall, Ants From Up There does a marvellous job at intertwining songs with one-another, through repeated lyrics or just the sheer musical fluidity that the outfit champions so well. Black Country, New Road were clearly making this album with the feel of the album as a full experience in mind.
In regards to accessibility, however, I would actually say that Ants From up There is less so than the band’s first album. But is that really such a bad thing? I don’t think so anyway. It shows that Black Country, New Road have taken a giant leap towards establishing their own unique aesthetic. And while doing so, they have created an album that feels like the truest service to the cult fanbase they had created.
Favourite Tracks: Chaos Space Marine | Good Will Hunting | Haldern
Least Favourite Track: Basketball Shoes
Ninja Tune
