There is an elephant in the room on Black Country, New Road’s new album. In the days leading up to the release of their 2022 album Ants From Up There, the band announced on social media that their frontman, Isaac Wood, had left the group. Wood’s guitar work and intensely emotional vocal performances had played a massive role in the band’s sound up to that point, a sound which had garnered an enthusiastic cult following even before the release of the band’s first record, For the First Time. Ants From Up There only grew this following and gave Wood an almost folkloric status among indie music circles. Thus, his absence would become the elephant in the room with the band on their latest, Forever Howlong, their first full-length output since his departure (the transitional Live at Bush Hall recording notwithstanding). With Wood’s voice out of the picture, the band opted to share the lead vocal and principal songwriting role between violinist Georgia Ellery, keyboardist May Kershaw, and bassist Tyler Hyde. The result is an album that is, in some ways, completely unrecognizable from the band’s early output.
The new sound Black Country, New Road have grown into is shown straight away on the opening track and lead single “Besties.” What’s new here is a much more prominent pop sensibility than the band ever indulged in previously. Subsequent tracks “The Big Spin,” “Socks,” and “Salem Sisters” double down on this new whimsical atmosphere, being full of lush instrumentation and harmony. The most surprising aspect to some fans, however, is that, lyrics aside, the music’s overall sound is unmistakably happy. The same would not be said for any of the band’s previous work. Rounding out disc one of the album are “Two Horses” and “Mary,” the former of which sits comfortably with BC NR’s best songs. The track starts as a beautifully crafted ballad with rising tension, then explodes into a high-energy groove that conjures the feeling of classic westerns.
The record really hits its stride in the second half, with each track from “Happy Birthday” through “Goodbye (Don’t Tell Me)” taking the listener on a different journey.
The overall sound of the album is, of course, vastly different from what BC, NR made with Isaac Wood, but there is some consistency to the band’s identity. Going back as far as For the First Time, the group has had an interesting collective approach to their composition process – while certain songs may have a principal songwriter, each member composes their own parts. This is a method that requires band members to have a deep understanding of each other and a strong desire to serve the music itself. Clearly, the members of Black Country, New Road each have this, and the result has always been songs with deceptively simple layers that complement each other well and form something that is greater than the sum of its parts. This is no different on Forever Howlong. The band have impressively dealt with the elephant in their room, not trying to recreate their past work, but not losing their identity either.
