Album Review: Ants From Up There – Black Country, New Road
Black Country, New Road continues to shine as one of the most promising and extraordinary bands in music today. Their unique blending of prog-rock, jazz-core and post-punk culminates into indistinguishable listening experiences. Their sophomore record, “Ants From Up There,” elevates the band’s status to the elite level — if they were not considered there already.
Sadly, the release of this record came only days after the band’s lead singer, Isaac Wood, announced his departure from the band, stating mental health reasons could not let him continue. Although Wood’s unique voice and harrowing messages will no doubt be missed, this record serves as a beautiful demonstration of Wood’s talent along with the rest of the band.
Upon a first listen, “Ants From Up There” can masquerade as a disjunct record that is searching for an identity. However, taking a further look into Wood’s vocals with the seemingly alive melodic elements of the record display the truly destructive and remorseful thematic elements this record has to offer, connecting each track to the one it precedes.
The track “Chaos Space Marine” serves as a brilliant example, opening the record with a buoyant and bright arrangement of sounds and timbres juxtaposed with messages of abandoning oneself despite receiving love.
The final stretch of the record takes listeners on a massive and emotionally charged endeavor, with the tracks “The Place Where He Inserted the Blade” and “Snow Globes” leaving a lasting impact for both its lyrical content and virtuosic instrumental and vocal performances.
The final track “Basketball Shoes,” which has been performed multiple times in concert but never studio recorded until now, beautifully closes the band’s saga with Wood at the helm, giving long time listeners a heartbreaking but beautiful rendition of the cult-status holding song.
Although the goodbye is bitter-sweet, it also serves as an ushering into a new era for the group, and the mercurial band has the world eagerly waiting for what they do next.
An incredible attribute outside of the unique instrumentation and musical structure Black Country, New Road presents that remains consistent throughout their two LPs is the band’s incredible patience. No track on either record is rushed, nor does it sacrifice musical integrity for any reason.
Although this could potentially lead to getting less radio and playlist attention, the band’s dedication to their craft has paid off massively, giving their discography a wonderful and refreshing dose of individuality in today’s music scene.
Coming exactly a year after the release of their debut album, Black Country, New Road has once again released an album in February that will be incredibly challenging to top for the remainder of its respective year. The band has once again delivered a modern musical masterpiece and has fully cemented itself into music history.
