Black Country, New Road - Ants From Up There REVIEW

9.0/10

This was my first listening experience with the English rock band Black Country, New Road, and boy was it an experience I won't forget.

The album starts off with a wonderful "Intro". Uplifting horns flood the track, quickly followed by "Chaos Space Marine", one of the most theatrical tracks on the project, with a lovely combination of strings and horns. "Concorde" contains distant-sounding vocal harmonies and I absolutely LOVE the tambourine usage (underrated instrument). The songwriting on this track is heartbreaking, and the magnificent ending to the track is the cherry on top with the all-out vocal performance and instrumental. "Bread Song" is another gorgeous track with a beautiful sad guitar to start it off. The shaky vocal performance on this track sells the emotional lyrics very well. “So show me the land you acquire / And slip into something beside / The holes you try to hide” are such distressingly gorgeous lyrics. The piano is also incredible on this track.

"Good Will Hunting" is honestly the only track I wasn't completely fond of. The attention to detail in the production was in fact strong in this track, but lyrically it was boring and dragged out a little too long.

"Haldern" however quickly revives the album with the beautiful horn at the beginning (not sure what exact instrument that is) and beautiful piano that adds lots of depth to the track. The track also ends on a satisfyingly sharp high note; great on the ear. "Mark's Theme" follows afterward and is a jazzy groove that's a delight to listen to.

"The Place Where He Inserted the Blade" is the best track on the album for me. The chords are lovely, the drums are perfect, and the vocals are perfect as well; incredibly emotional. "Snow Globes" offers pretty airy vocals to start off and is such a beautifully peaceful arrangement. The drums do drown out the vocals near the end of the track, which offers an unsatisfying listening experience, however, the track is still undoubtedly all-around very gorgeous. The closing track, "Basketball Shoes" is a twelve-minute masterpiece. The first half of the song is perfectly slow and serene, picking up at the halfway point with more of a rock feel. The production in the second half is so grand sounding, especially near the end where the instrumental goes all-out.

This album is a great example of quality over quantity. Ten tracks, all with incredible attention to detail in terms of production, and incredible vocal performances from Isaac Wood. Undoubtedly one of the best projects in 2022.

give it a listen