The Album Review Club - Week #194 (page 1303) - Ants From Up There - Black Country, New Road

Ants From Up There is the second album from Black Country, New Road. It was recorded very quickly after their first album but just days before its release front man and songwriter Isaac Wood quit the band. This is probably a good thing as BCNR fans seem quite intense and it was only a matter of time before someone killed him. Wood’s voice and lyrics dominate this album to such an extent that the two subsequent BCNR releases have felt like solo albums from the rest of the band. The loss of Wood has made the band less aggressively anxious so it’s for this reason I’m nominating this. Critics may accuse it of being the perfect album for incels but I’ve think that is a very uncharitable reading of the songs which are mostly about break ups and toast. They are also incestually self referential with song titles appearing as lyrics in other songs.

I came across the band thanks to the Spotify algorithm that recommended it after their third album was released - Live at Bush Hall catalogued a set of hastily written songs the band could tour with. After Isaac left the band they decided it was inappropriate to sing his songs but I feel BCNR are a band that have a healthy disregard of their back catalogue which will prompt them to keep things fresh moving forward. There are definite BCNR traits that run through all their music - their use of dynamics is great and although the way they utilise tension is at its height on Ants From Up There they draw from that well often. However the band are still often discussed pre and post Wood. I saw them twice post Wood this year and had a great time on both nights BUT I feel sad that I’ll never get the experience of hearing these songs played live in a sweaty room of incels.

Song writers can take two approaches to music. They can choose to write songs that elevate themselves and the rock star lifestyle which often aggravates me. The ordinary people you claim to be better than are the ones buying your music and allowing you to live your dream by selling back to them a dream they are never going to achieve - cocaine tomorrow. The other approach is one that BCNR takes. This approach elevates the ordinary (similar to Squeeze last week) and celebrates the melodrama in the mundane. They sing of cold metal hands, toast and soup makers which draws the listener in - I get crumbs in the bed too! But they do it with a heightened emotion - a wet dream inspired by Charlie XCX prompts far too much angst describing it as a “generous loan to me” but with “crippling interest”. It moves my cold dead heart.

Whilst Isaac Wood is a big presence it’s wrong to think this is an album that’s solely about him. The rest of the band are more than capable of keeping up and it’ll take more than three listens to fully appreciate this and in particular the way they use repetition to provoke the tension I’ve previously spoken about. The ending of Haldern is pretty uncomfortable as the band refuses to play on beat. My wife thinks I enjoy making most pleasant experiences instantly awkward by asking improper questions so maybe I like this more than most - she certainly would make me turn it off way before the end as the saxophone and violin purposefully grate.

I previously mentioned that this is an album of closers - it’s only 10 songs but 5 of them could be the final song on any other album. This has caused much debate about what is the correct order of songs. The emotional height of the album seems to come on eighth song The Place Where He Inserted the Blade which depending on the day has builds that make me feel euphoric or piano that makes me feel sad. This is when you’ll be at your most satisfied but then the two longest songs from the album occur afterwards. For me they act like encores as stylistically they seem to belong on the previous album. If you thought the drum solos on the Deep Purple album were excessive then you should probably skip Snow Globes but you’d be missing out on a moving experience. And then the actual closer, Basket Ball Shoes takes ages to punch you in the angst bone. But it hits hard.

This is an album that is best experienced in order and to completion with full attention. It starts off as one thing, takes you through some highs and lows before a relentless climb into madness. Finally you’re left in silence, ears still ringing ready to put your hand in a blender just so you can feel something this strongly again.
 
mrbelfry said:
I'm looking forward to hearing peoples responses to it. Lots of opinions I respect and admire including yours so excited to hear what other people hear in it that I don't - good and bad
Click to expand...

The vast majority of my cognitive workload this week will coming up with some lame rationalisation of why I like this when on the other hand I persistently say mean things about Thom Yorke. It'll be tricky and I may just have to cough to irrational prejudice but we'll see :-)
 
threespires said:
The vast majority of my cognitive workload this week will coming up with some lame justification for saying I like this when on the other hand I persistently say mean things about Thom Yorke. It'll be tricky and I may just have to cough to irrational prejudice but we'll see :-)
Click to expand...
I think this is much more poetic than any of Yorkes output however I could barely recite many examples of his songwriting. I could do most of Karma Police but not much else. This though is the peak of British engineering
 
mrbelfry said:
Ants From Up There is the second album from Black Country, New Road. It was recorded very quickly after their first album but just days before its release front man and songwriter Isaac Wood quit the band. This is probably a good thing as BCNR fans seem quite intense and it was only a matter of time before someone killed him. Wood’s voice and lyrics dominate this album to such an extent that the two subsequent BCNR releases have felt like solo albums from the rest of the band. The loss of Wood has made the band less aggressively anxious so it’s for this reason I’m nominating this. Critics may accuse it of being the perfect album for incels but I’ve think that is a very uncharitable reading of the songs which are mostly about break ups and toast. They are also incestually self referential with song titles appearing as lyrics in other songs.

I came across the band thanks to the Spotify algorithm that recommended it after their third album was released - Live at Bush Hall catalogued a set of hastily written songs the band could tour with. After Isaac left the band they decided it was inappropriate to sing his songs but I feel BCNR are a band that have a healthy disregard of their back catalogue which will prompt them to keep things fresh moving forward. There are definite BCNR traits that run through all their music - their use of dynamics is great and although the way they utilise tension is at its height on Ants From Up There they draw from that well often. However the band are still often discussed pre and post Wood. I saw them twice post Wood this year and had a great time on both nights BUT I feel sad that I’ll never get the experience of hearing these songs played live in a sweaty room of incels.

Song writers can take two approaches to music. They can choose to write songs that elevate themselves and the rock star lifestyle which often aggravates me. The ordinary people you claim to be better than are the ones buying your music and allowing you to live your dream by selling back to them a dream they are never going to achieve - cocaine tomorrow. The other approach is one that BCNR takes. This approach elevates the ordinary (similar to Squeeze last week) and celebrates the melodrama in the mundane. They sing of cold metal hands, toast and soup makers which draws the listener in - I get crumbs in the bed too! But they do it with a heightened emotion - a wet dream inspired by Charlie XCX prompts far too much angst describing it as a “generous loan to me” but with “crippling interest”. It moves my cold dead heart.

Whilst Isaac Wood is a big presence it’s wrong to think this is an album that’s solely about him. The rest of the band are more than capable of keeping up and it’ll take more than three listens to fully appreciate this and in particular the way they use repetition to provoke the tension I’ve previously spoken about. The ending of Haldern is pretty uncomfortable as the band refuses to play on beat. My wife thinks I enjoy making most pleasant experiences instantly awkward by asking improper questions so maybe I like this more than most - she certainly would make me turn it off way before the end as the saxophone and violin purposefully grate.

I previously mentioned that this is an album of closers - it’s only 10 songs but 5 of them could be the final song on any other album. This has caused much debate about what is the correct order of songs. The emotional height of the album seems to come on eighth song The Place Where He Inserted the Blade which depending on the day has builds that make me feel euphoric or piano that makes me feel sad. This is when you’ll be at your most satisfied but then the two longest songs from the album occur afterwards. For me they act like encores as stylistically they seem to belong on the previous album. If you thought the drum solos on the Deep Purple album were excessive then you should probably skip Snow Globes but you’d be missing out on a moving experience. And then the actual closer, Basket Ball Shoes takes ages to punch you in the angst bone. But it hits hard.

This is an album that is best experienced in order and to completion with full attention. It starts off as one thing, takes you through some highs and lows before a relentless climb into madness. Finally you’re left in silence, ears still ringing ready to put your hand in a blender just so you can feel something this strongly again.
Click to expand...
There is nothing in this review that makes me think my visceral initial reaction was a good one :(.
 
BlueHammer85 said:
Couldn’t squeeze in the review, need a couple more days. Man Flu has hit me.
Click to expand...
Hope you’re on the mend soon. Luckily I swerved man flu and copped a severe chest infection, thankfully the antibiotics seem to be working.

Apologies for my absence this week. I’ll try and give the Squeeze nomination a listen when I’m back in can be arsed mode
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top