Black Country, New Road - For the First Time
by Zena Grieg
published: 8 / 3 / 2021

Label:
Ninja Tune
Format: LP
intro
Experimental and promising debut album from eclectic Cambridge septet Black Country, New Road
‘For the First Time’, the first album by the Cambridge septet Black Country, New Road, who include three classically-trained musicians, all in their twenties, has just been released. Formed in 2018, following the break-up of Nervous Conditions, the band took their name from the internet, playing regular gigs at the vibrant South London venue The Windmill. Recorded over just six days, the six-track collection comprises four which had previously been released over the last several years, including the singles ‘Sunglasses’ and ‘Athens, France’ and is an eclectic mix of competent guitar work, progressive jazz and Jewish klezmer music, with Isaac Wood’s acerbic vocals running like a current throughout. Highlights include the energetic opener ‘Instrumental’ in the style of avant-garde jazz meets klezmer; the lead single, the cynical multi-phase ‘Science Fair’ with its laconic lyrics: “I met her accidentally/It was at the Cambridge Science Fair/And she was so impressed I could make so many things catch on fire/But I was just covered in bubbles of methane gas”; ‘Track X’ with its harmonies set against withering lyrics; and the epic eight-minute instrumental closer ‘Opus’ bookending the album by sound instead of words. Experimental, dissonant, at times raw, but with lots of potential, ‘For the First Time’ is an innovative, self-assured debut.
Track Listing:-
1 Instrumental2 Athens, France
3 Science Fair
4 Sunglasses
5 Track X
6 Opus
7 Sparks
8 Paralysed
9 Devotion
10 Failure
11 Satisfied
Band Links:-
https://blackcountrynewroad.com/https://www.facebook.com/BlackCountryNewRoad
https://x.com/BCNRband
https://www.instagram.com/blackcountrynewroad/
Have a Listen:-
photography |
Photoscapes (2023) |
![]() |
Robert Hadley takes photographs of Black Country, New Road at a gig at The Crossing in Birmingham. |
bandcamp
soundcloud
reviews |
Forever Howlong (2025) |
![]() |
Inventive change of style for Mercury Priize-nominated Cambridgeshire sextet Black Country, New Road |
most viewed articles
current edition
John McKay - InterviewCathode Ray - Interview
Robert Forster - Interview
When Rivers Meet - Waterfront, Norwich, 29/5/2025
Spear Of Destiny - Interview
Fiona Hutchings - Interview
Carl Ewens - David Bowie 1964 to 1982 On Track: Every Album, Every Song
Chris Wade - Interview
Shrag - Huw Stephens Session 08.12.10 and Marc Riley Session 21.03.12
Brian Wilson - Ten Songs That Made Me Love...
most viewed reviews
current edition
Peter Doolan - I Am a Tree Rooted to the Spot and a Snake Moves Around Me,in a CircleVinny Peculiar - Things Too Long Left Unsaid
Garbage - Let All That We Imagine Be The Light
Vultures - Liz Kershaw Session 16.06.88
John McKay - Sixes and #Sevens
Little Simz - Lotus
HAIM - I Quit
Pulp - More
Lapsley - I'm a Hurricane, I'm a Woman In Love
Billy Nomates - Metalhorse
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart