After making waves with their debut last year, Black Country, New Road strikes again with a can’t-miss album in Ants from Up There.
Can the London-based rock outfit recreate the atmosphere that made their first album so captivating? This question lingers across the opening moments of Ants from Up There, which immediately makes clear that this direction diverges from much of their previously-trodden ground. From the jump, this record proves jazzier, with greater emphasis on its brass and string sections. The concern, of course, with such a young group remains that they may lose the plot and bury their clear talent in a mess of competing ideas. “We were very careful and cautious,” acknowledges lead vocalist Isaac Wood, but as they’ve been there before, “there’s less tension because each specific decision means, in a way, less to us.” Well-aware of the weight of creating a proper sophomore album, the band aimed for greater fluidity and spontaneity. As a result, with the leading single, “Chaos Space Marine”, the band set expectations accordingly:
In time you will find,
These things take up space inside your mind,
Where you could be keeping honest thoughts of the sea alone.
Notably the shortest track they’d released to that point, this single represented a significant leap away from most of the debut. Though Wood remains free to vocalize some of the usual concerns, the points of emphasis differ. Within the lens of the album overall, motifs begin to reveal themselves, notably departures, escapism, and digging holes for oneself. Sonically, greater integration of non-standard integration in rock music helps to create intrigue and overall depth. This trend also continues throughout the album, including “Bread Song”:
So show mе the land you acquired,
And slip into something beside,
The holes you try to hide,
And lay out your rules for the night.
Oh, don’t eat your toast in my bed
As demonstrated here, the storytelling is more fleshed out and less bogged down details brought on by stream of consciousness. Described by Wood as “trying to access something slightly more universal while still being interesting,” this change could be maligned as the band simplifying their delivery in favor of more commercial appeal, a claim that was also lobbied against the differences between the original and studio versions of tracks from For the First Time. However, just as with that album, this alteration in Ants from Up There arguably stems from maturing as a band and creating more palatable material as a result. Whatever the case, a couple live staples received significant facelifts at album’s end:
Your friend, the one that you loved,
Did you keep him on your side?
Did you ever get to ask what on earth he meant by,
“Might take some time to learn how to use thеse bodies right,
But it is for this that God has gave us both thе night”
“Snow Globes” has been circulating in concert form for over a year. Now, paired with “Basketball Shoes”, it appears to close out this remarkable album. Again, the full band shows up on these tracks, each of which take their time building to overarching crescendos. The same motifs appear again here, described by saxophonist Lewis Evans as “a musical through line,” which serves to make Ants from Up There “feel like more of an album.” Indeed, across their nearly 22-minute runtime, this pair seems to leave no stone unturned. Ideas from the first three tracks make triumphant returns, especially when integrated into “Basketball Shoes”, a song written before the album’s conception.
Without question, Ants from Up There is a demanding and exhausting listen. The band, now better-seasoned and more comfortable in their skin, tosses barrage after barrage at the listener, yet manage a clear level of cohesion thematically and musically. Stretching the “experimental rock” label to its limit, the sound comes largely unmoored from much of their previous work. Whether much of the obvious nihilism and lectures from Wood are missed remains open. However, Black Country, New Road have demonstrated the ability to pivot successfully. They still retain the vitality and excitement that made them a band to watch in the first place.
9/10
Black Country, New Road – Ants from Up There is out this Friday via Ninja Tune and can be pre-ordered here.