Ants From Up There might be one of the best albums I’ve ever listened to.
If I could limit my review to a sentence that would be it; it is quite simply spectacular.
Released 364 days after their critically acclaimed debut album For The First Time, Black Country, New Road have followed it with an absolute masterpiece.
Intro, as the name would suggest, introduces Ants From Up There; a 54 second instrumental track which sets the theatrical tone of the rest of the album. The first proper song, ‘Chaos Space Marine’, originally released as the album’s first single in October, is an uplifting yet surreal tale of the eponymous chaos space marine. A fantastic blending of pop and experimental rock, the track is the perfect example of what Black Country, New Road did so well on the first album. Next comes ‘Concorde’, a melancholic, wistful look at the past and the present. The song is one of the album’s many stand out tracks and highlights lead singer Isaac Wood’s talent for songwriting. Musically, the track is phenomenal, transforming from a delicate, tender sound, perfectly matching Wood’s soft delivery, to a frenzied and fiery crescendo. The ferocious and explosive sound they were known for on their first album has clearly not been lost. Indeed, the band seem to now use it to far greater effect, constantly building up to these grand and triumphant eruptions of noise.
‘Bread Song’ is a beautiful song, somewhat of a departure from the sound I’d typically associate with Black Country, New Road; more orchestral, with the strings and the swells in sound. This, combined with Wood’s emotionally intense lyrics, creates a really elegant song, and a perfect contrast to the crashing sound of the preceding track. Isaac Wood’s songwriting has dramatically evolved, as has his vocal work. ‘Good Will Hunting’ and ‘Haldern’ demonstrate the range he has, as well as how perfectly his voice suits the experimental nature of the band.
It feels fatuous to say that ‘The Place Where He Inserted The Blade’ is the best song on the album considering every song feels perfect, but here we are. This song feels like Black Country, New Road at their full potential; a beautifully melancholic-yet-uplifting track (an oxymoronic description for an oxymoronic song). The bands’ talents are on full display here. The coalescence of the instruments, from the saxophone to the piano and particularly the warm guitar sound, combined with Wood’s bluesy lounge singer-esque lyrics- a deliberate homage to Bob Dylan’s later period- creates an absolutely incredible piece of music. It creates a real feeling of catharsis, reminiscent of Arcade Fire’s Funeral.
The album ends with ‘Basketball Shoes’; a 12-minute, multi-part track which feels less like a song and more like an EP representing their whole album. It follows the motif of the rest of the album in its intricacy, starting out slowly, with a quaint and tempered build up, until exploding into a mind-blowing crescendo. The song is older than the album, being used as a centrepiece for the band’s live performances, and you can clearly see how ‘Basketball Shoes’ acted as a microcosm of the band’s vision for Ants From Up There; sowing the seeds for the rest of the tracks on the album.
There is a certain bittersweetness to this album considering Isaac Wood’s recent departure from the band. It’s a given that they will have to change, and the songs will not sound the same. However, in many ways it makes the album all the greater; a beautiful farewell not just to Isaac Wood but also this era of Black Country, New Road.
Rating: 5/5