mxdwn.co.uk » Black Country New Road New Album https://www.mxdwn.co.uk all that matters in music in the UK Fri, 01 May 2026 18:26:51 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1 Black Country, New Road Announce Tour Return to Japan https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/black-country-new-road-announce-tour-return-to-japan/ https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/black-country-new-road-announce-tour-return-to-japan/#comments Thu, 03 Apr 2025 10:56:45 +0000 http://www.mxdwn.co.uk/?p=108423 Indie rock band Black Country, New Road has recently announced their return to Japan with tour dates set in December where they will perform new album ‘Forever Howlong’ out on 4 April.

 

The band have had great success and a large, growing fanbase in the area since their performance at Fuji Rock Festival in 2022. Since then they have spoken about their connection to Japan in an interview with Japan times. Keyboardist and vocalist May Kershaw says here that she was born in Yokohama and returned there with her family for holidays and was briefly enrolled in the local schools there. The band have also noted their gratitude for being able to perform in the country despite ‘live show restrictions’. Their significance in Japan is upheld by the fanbase who are thrilled for their return.     

The British based band is formed of Tyler Hyde, Lewis Evans, Georgia Ellery, May Kershaw, Charlie Wayne and Luke Mark after lead vocalist Isaac Wood left the band in 2022. Since then their sound has changed, with fans divided over whether this diversion is welcomed or not. The band originally gained traction with their indie-experimental sound, as former vocalist Wood was known to change and adapt songs during live performances of their previous albums ‘Ants from up there’ and ‘For the first time’. Since then the band have released singles ‘For the Cold Country’ ‘Happy Birthday’ and ‘Besties’ from their upcoming album ‘Forever Howlong’. 

 

Fans of Wood have compared the band before and after his departure with one fan noting this, 

Although, there has also been a widely positive reception to these singles, with one fan stating ‘Genuinely such a beautiful song, this group has evolved so much since Isaac left, and I’m all for it. I’m genuinely so excited for the tour’, in the comments of the band’s TikTok where they posted a snippet of ‘For the Cold Country’. The song is a vast change from their earlier frantic, punk energy and instead introduces a slow building sombre instrumental to the folk inspired track.
@blackcountrynewroad‘For The Cold Country’ is out now. You can listen to it on your phone and or laptop now. It is the final single before our album comes out (next friday, the 4th of April). Artwork by Jordan Kee. We hope you enjoy listening to it. Thanks, BC,NR♬ For the Cold Country – Black Country, New Road

 The indie powerhouse has been hosting listening parties around the world for ‘Forever Howlong’ where they have said to be giving away tote bags with crayons, a cover of the album (created by artist Jordan Kee) and a notebook so fans can ‘colour in whilst listening to the music’.  

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Black Country, New Road (@blackcountrynewroad)

The effort allows for fans to interact with the upcoming release in a fun and playful way, authentic to the band’s artistry and image. This notion will be exciting to see in upcoming live performances. 

]]> https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/black-country-new-road-announce-tour-return-to-japan/feed/ 0 Black Country, New Road Share Music Video for ‘Concorde’ https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/black-country-new-road-share-music-video-for-concorde/ https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/black-country-new-road-share-music-video-for-concorde/#comments Thu, 06 Jan 2022 20:16:06 +0000 http://www.mxdwn.co.uk/?p=51663 London post-punk outfit Black Country, New Road have released a sci-fi inspired music video for their song “Concorde”, which will be featured on their upcoming album Ants From Up There. The record will be released on February 4th through Ninja Tune. You can watch the video at the link below.

The music video presents a comedic yet poignant narrative, following an ant-like humanoid alien (literally an ant from up there) who crash lands on earth and finds himself at the mercy of a group of not so understanding humans.

Maxim Kelly, who directed the music video, said to NME: “On the surface, the concept was straightforward, a walking video: An Ant from ‘up there’, sings Concorde…But, for a band who namecheck everyone from Scott Walker to Kanye West, and the pronounced mix of genres in their music, it felt right to take an analogous approach with the visuals. Throw as many references together as possible and see if we, too, could get it all to hold together as a piece.”

Describing the video further, Kelly stated: “We took the 6 minute [plus] runtime as an asset. It gave us the time needed to weave as much as possible into the film. A walking video in parts, but also with a narrative running through. We combined miniatures with VFX, and flanked the film with archival footage.”

The song itself feels sonically like a sombre progressive rock tune in places, given its structure and inclusion of various different instruments outside of typical rock band instrumentation, such as a piano and saxophone. It is somewhat of a departure from their debut For The First Time, however some of the meandering clean tone guitar lines do harken back to the post-rock vein that much of that album inhabited. The song is almost folksy at times as well, incorporating a mandolin that plays a gentle motif as frontman Isaac Wood sings “I was made to love you, can’t you tell?”.

Speaking to NME in an interview back in September, the band called their new album: “sad, epic and possibly more universally likeable… possibly.” The album is available for pre-order here, and all of the currently released singles can be found on all available streaming services.

Black Country, New Road will be embarking on a UK tour in April, and will be playing at show at The Roundhouse in London in February. Tickets can be purchased here, and the dates can be viewed down below.

08/02/2022- Roundhouse- London
06/04- The Foundry- Sheffield
07/04- O2 Academy- Oxford
09/04- Liquid Room- Edinburgh
10/04- The Empire- Belfast
11/04- Olympia- Dublin
13/04- Albert Hall- Manchester
14/04- Rock City- Nottingham
16/04- Concorde 2- Brighton
17/04- O2 Academy- Bristol

]]> https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/black-country-new-road-share-music-video-for-concorde/feed/ 0 Black Country, New Road Announce Second Album, Release New Single ‘Chaos Space Marine’ https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/black-country-new-road-announce-second-album-release-new-single-chaos-space-marine/ https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/black-country-new-road-announce-second-album-release-new-single-chaos-space-marine/#comments Thu, 14 Oct 2021 21:57:22 +0000 http://www.mxdwn.co.uk/?p=44801 London post-punk septet Black Country, New Road have released a new single entitled “Chaos Space Marine” and have announced their upcoming second album Ants From Up There, which is set to be released on February 4th, 2022 via Ninja Tune.

According to NME, the band’s frontman, Isaac Wood, has called “Chaos Space Marine” “the best song we’ve ever written”, stating: “We threw in every idea anyone had with that song. So the making of it was a really fast, whimsical approach – like throwing all the shit at the wall and just letting everything stick.” Wood’s description of the song rings true; as the song begins, the listener is almost immediately hit with a progressive rock-esque instrumental, with different instruments dropping in and out in fleeting bursts before breaking down to a jagged staccato piano line, with Wood’s restrained narration sitting over the top, singing; “And though England is mine, I must leave it all behind.”

The track, whilst certainly not a far cry, carries a slightly different sound to the sometimes dissonant, largely guitar-driven sound of the band’s debut full-length album For The First Time, which was released earlier this year to great acclaim from both audiences and critics. The album has warranted comparison to the likes of American post-rock legends Slint for its moody guitar lines, as well as similar groups such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor and fellow post-punk/experimental rock outfit Black Midi, whom Black Country, New Road regularly perform with under the name Black Midi, New Road.

Their forthcoming album Ants From Up There was recorded at Chale Abbey Studios on the Isle of Wight over the summer of this year. Bassist Tyler Hyde said of the new record, according to NME; “It was such a pleasure to make. I’ve kind of accepted that this might be the best thing that I’m ever part of for the rest of my life. And that’s fine.”

The tracklist for Ants From Up There can be viewed down below.

1). “Intro”
2). “Chaos Space Marine”
3). “Concorde”
4). “Bread Song”
5). “Good Will Hunting”
6). “Haldern”
7). “Mark’s Theme”
8). “The Place Where He Inserted The Blade”
9). “Snow Globes”
10). “Basketball Shoes”

Black Country, New Road will be embarking on a UK tour following the album’s release in February. Listed down below are the band’s remaining 2021 shows, alongside the dates for their 2022 tour. Tickets are available here.

29/11/21-Chalk-Brighton
30/11- Junction 1-Cambridge
01/12- 1865- Southampton
03/12- Arts Club,- Liverpool
04/12- Irish Centre- Leeds
06/12- O2 Ritz Manchester- Manchester
07/12- Newcastle University Union- Newcastle Upon Tyne
08/12- TV Studios (SWG3)- Glasgow
09/12-The Mill- Birmingham
10/12- The Waterfront- Norwich
12/12- SWX- Bristol
13/12-Y Plas- Cardiff
15/12- Whelan’s- Dublin

2022 TOUR
08/03/2022- Roundhouse-London
06/04-The Foundry-Sheffield
07/04- O2 Academy- Oxford
09/04- Liquid Room-Edinburgh
10/04- The Empire- Belfast
11/04- Olympia- Dublin
13/04- Albert Hall- Manchester
14/04- Rock City, Nottingham
16/04- Concorde 2- Brighton
17/04- O2 Academy- Bristol

]]> https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/black-country-new-road-announce-second-album-release-new-single-chaos-space-marine/feed/ 0