Black Country, New Road -- For the first time: Review

Black Country, New Road -- For the first time

[Ninja Tune]

Post-punk freshmen Black Country, New Road have been making waves all around the experimental rock scene for the last few years. The band has been regular touring mates with indie darlings black midi and recently played a broadcast concert with Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon and Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien. The music media has been all over the band with interviews and live sets even though the band has only released two singles(?)

The true magic of the coverage on this band has been in those two songs they released. The first of the two is “Athens, France”, whose only physical release was on an independent rock compilation called Speedy Wunderground Year 4. The song showcased some really creative ideas in dynamics with a wildly memorable vocal performance and the heavy-handed Slint influences.

Their second single, “Sunglasses”, is a hulking 8-and-a-half minute monster with post-rock instrumentation, nail-biting vocals, time signature changes, and cacophonous freakouts. Even though it was just the band’s second release, they showed the performance chops and chemistry of a band that’s been touring for years. Also, their unique inclusion of saxophone and violin into this stiffening song structures brought them an edge above the competition.

Since they’re a regular touring band, they’ve had numerous songs on the backburner to throw on their debut: the public was just wondering what it would look like. Live shows were chock full of a lot of ideas plus renditions of the two aforementioned singles in completely different form.

So the record comes out, For the first time it’s called and it’s only six tracks! Two of the six are redone versions of “Sunglasses” and “Athens, France”. The second of the two is a couple steps ahead in terms of production but still offers the same raw appeal as the original. The angular intro grooves incorrectly in the exact right way and the thrilling sway of its spastic bridge section gives me a head rush every time. The guitar tones are sharp and the violin embellishments complement the soft outro but keep the riffs nice and dissonant.

“Science Fair”, a favorite of their live sets, is here in its dissonant beauty and delivers probably the most stomach-churning edge of any song. The functions in two linear but clear crescendos into unease as Wood recalls a story of deep embarrassment at a science fair where he catches a girl on fire and then proceeds down a path of villainy. The free jazz saxophone work and scratchy guitar strumming makes for terrifying sequences of unease while the saxophone and violin ostinatos are oddly warm.

This album seems to be able to shift from comforting tones to gut-wrenching pain at the flip of a dime like on “Sunglasses”. While I absolutely loved the original version, their revised version shows maturity in their various performances, not only in changes in lyrics but even more focus on dynamics. The warm swell of the first half of the song rings with a strong sense of trembling self-hatred and the second half oozes more inflated egoism. I still can’t get over how much I love the guitar parts on each side of the midpoint, they feel like a mix of Slint melodrama with Neil Young delicacy. I’ve been listening to this song for about half a year and I couldn’t be happier with the new rendition.

As apocalyptic as this album can be, it can flip the script and maybe something truly heart-warming like on “Track X”. Departing from the anguish of the rest of the album, “Track X” is about a blossoming relationship from Wood’s past. The dream-like feeling of this track feels like a safe haven from the storms on the rest of the album.

The most jarring moments on the record are totally the bookends, both of which show the band’s love for Klezmer--freaking Jewish folk music--and their tenacity in playing it too. Starting with “Instrumental”, a klezmer jam with bombastic drum beats, suffocating synth swells, guttural guitars. As the piecewise jam unfolds, the band comes together as one and flies forward at the listener with the force of the bus. The jam sets the perfect scene for the record, displaying the dynamics and emotions to come.

On the other end is “Opus” a masterfully crafted song that switches back and forth from an anxiety-inducing klezmer jam and a swaying mellow section that tackle cycles of destruction. The mellow section’s melody falls like a leaf in the wind while the contrasting jam features riffs that shoot upward showing this back and forth struggle. In the end, both sections meet at the same tempo and fizzle out in a beautiful yet pathetic mutter.

Honestly, I fucking loved this record. It was hard to try and put in a tight review how much I loved it but it’s just so packed full of personality and dynamics that it would’ve been hard to express my love for it anyway. For a debut record, it shows so much promise for the future of this band and I’ll be on the edge of my seat for whatever the band has next.

Black Country, New Road deliver the most exciting rock album of 2021 so far with For the first time, a dynamic, riveting debut record that only leaves the listener wanting more.

Listen To: All of it, but especially “Sunglasses” is you must

RIYL: black midi, Slint

9.4/10.