FOR THE FIRST TIME

While the internet has allowed artists from once unthinkable geographic regions to spawn interesting new music, former musical meccas such as London, England still seem to be going strong with new generations of musicians gathering to catch the next wave of whatever is en vogue. Here is one of England's newest up and coming artists called BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD which formed in 2018 out of the ashes of a band called Nervous Conditions but due to multiple sexual assault allegations against member Connor Browne, the members of Tyler Hyde (bass), Isaac Wood aka The Guest (vocals, guitar), Lewis Evans aka Good With Parents (saxophone), Charlie Wayne (drums) and May Kershaw (drums) left and created BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD and rarely does a band hit the ground running with a sound that stands out from the millions of bands that exist these days.

Just recently released on 5 February 2021, FOR THE FIRST TIME showcases an innovative mix of post-punk, free jazz, math rock and a style of post-rock most often compared to Slint's "Spiderland" but what sets this album truly apart from any other is the addition of klezmer which adds a festive jocularity to the otherwise post-rock processions that implement heavy doses of post-punk guitar dissonance that in tandem with episodic bouts of free jazz can resemble the irreverent skronk of 80s no wave or the detached free-flowing reverie of Maudlin of the Well's more contemplative moments. The addition of Georgia Ellergy on the violin who has played in the pop band Jockstrap as well as the wild Happy Bagel Klezmer Orchestra adds a contrasting heft to FOR THE FIRST TIME unlike any other rock album i've heard outside the more experimental realms of techy progressive rock that is.

After the fittingly named introduction of "Instrumental" which sets the overall mood for the album, the true distinguishing sound of BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD comes from lead singer Isaac Wood whose paranoid fueled lyrics and half-spoken, half-sung singing style that brings David Byrne's similar outbursts in the Talking Heads to mind. Although Wood also has channeled his inner Bryan Ferry as a hopeless romantic trying to navigate a world gone made. For an experimental rock album FOR THE FIRST TIME successfully straddles the world of post-rock which provides the cyclical loops that in the case of "Sunglasses" sprawls on to almost 10 minutes of playing time but fortified with post-rock guitar heft providing the sinewy textures for the klezmer and crafty atmospheres to weave around while Wood provides the perfect counterpoints with his moody oft unstable vocal contributions.

We can thank the UK label Ninja Tune for bringing BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD out of the seas of Bandcamp artists. Although this label that has been around since 1990 and specializes in downtempo and nu jazz releases, they clearly have their ears on the pulse of the modern music market and recognize a winning stylistic approach when they hear it. The beauty of FOR THE FIRST TIME is that it perfectly balances the constituent sum of the parts so deftly as to perfectly align them so that they reflect a completely unique display of music that transcends the influences that have been incorporated. While many have compared this to "Spiderland," in reality this album goes far beyond that album and not being the biggest fan of Slint's so-called magnum opus, i personally find this album to be a much more interesting listening experience as it adds so many more elements and juggles them with a circus performance precision unlike many first timers these days. This is indeed a band that has crafted a winning formula in this third decade of the 21st century and hopefully will continue to do so.

Experimental art-rockers Black Country, New Road released their debut studio album 'For the first time' in early 2021 and have since become one of the emblematic representatives of the so-called Windmill Scene, alongside similar new acts like black midi and Squid. The septet of young British musicians present a jarring collection of six tracks that combine the affinities and desperate romanticism of post-punk with the avant-garde turmoil of the art rock movement, emulating enough of that King Crimson/Talking Heads bravado, all essential elements of the innovative playing and writing that BCNR bolster here. The music is neurotic and complex, unpredictable and suspenseful, elevated by the sprechgesang of then-lead vocalist and guitar player Isaac Wood, who delivers some of the most unnerving yet fascinating lyrics to be heard on any newer experimental rock release. And on that note, the guitar playing here is angular, angsty and temperamental, in line with the "orderly chaos" of the songs, which are also rich in percussion, violins, and sax, giving the album a tint of fusion, among all the intricacy carried on by the strong musicianship of the group.

The sharp contrasts between quiet playing, an aspect of this band's music that has been explored thoroughly and excellently, and the dynamic, instant jabs of aggressive playing are what drive the songs on here; there is a genuine, sheer intensity to the music of this young band, which makes BCNR one of the really inventive contemporary acts hailing from the UK. The absurdity of the lyrics and the vocal delivery remain one of the distinctive features of the album, which also exhibits neuroticism, indulgence and compulsion in large amounts. Instrumental opener track is a nice and quirky piece that sets a daring, atmospheric and somewhat dissonant tone, followed by the surrealist rocker 'Athens, France', the first real taster of the group's peculiarities in terms of singing and instrumentation. The mellow, pensive ending of this song gives way to the distressful 'Science Fair', one of the more chaotic numbers on here, a song that can become overbearing and overindulgent at times. Yet among all this clatter, the listener will catch the brilliant post-rock riffing and distorted compulsions, which can be sufficiently adventurous and experimental here, among all the recognizable rock tropes. Then the second half of the record goes into a jazzier direction, as the band explores more unconventional song structures, rhythms and tempo changes, depicted perfectly by the 10-minute centerpiece 'Sunglasses'. 'Track X' has a more somber, pensive mood to it, while the closing 'Opus' is a technical onslaught that finishes off brilliantly this noisy, experimental album. Just a brilliant first idea of Black Country, New Road - as manic as their music can get, there are a lot of subtle elements here that contribute to the overall consistency of the album, one of the best debuts of the 2020s.