Black Country, New Road - For the First Time

  by Zena Grieg

published: 8 / 3 / 2021

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‘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 Instrumental
2 Athens, France
3 Science Fair
4 Sunglasses
5 Track X
6 Opus
7 Sparks
8 Paralysed
9 Devotion
10 Failure
11 Satisfied

Have a Listen:-

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