Black Country New Road | Artist
Black Country New Road is an English experimental rock band formed 2018 in Cambridge by Georgia Ellery (violin), Lewis Evans aka Good With Parents (saxophone, flute, vocals), Tyler Hyde (bass, vocals), May Kershaw (keyboards, vocals), Charlie Wayne (drums), and Isaac Wood (vocals, guitar). Wood left the band in 2022 and was replaced by guotarist Luke Mark. BCNR has a multifaceted sound which combines disparate genres including jazz, math rock, and klezmer to form sprawling tracks that switch between quieter moments and peaks of bristling intensity. The band's formation dates back to 2015 when Hyde, Evans, Ellery, Kershaw, Wayne, Wood, and then lead singer Connor Browne and second drummer Jonny Pyke formed the band Nervous Conditions, which had a similar, but more improvised sound to Black Country, New Road. Following multiple allegations of sexual assault against lead singer Browne, Nervous Conditions split in early 2018, having released two singles. The re-formed band cut their teeth at the infamous Brixton venue the Windmill, establishing themselves with their raucous live shows. Their live reputation and just two singles, 2019's "Sunglasses" and "Athen's, France," generated a lot of hype before the release of their debut album For the First Time in 2021, which earned them a Mercury Prize nomination. They quickly followed up with 2022's Ants from Up There. On 31 January 2022, lead vocalist and guitarist Isaac Wood announced his sudden departure from the band four days before the release of Ants From Up There via the band's Instagram, citing struggles with his mental health. This resulted in the cancelling of the band's planned first US tour. With the departure of a vocalist, three of the band's members now shared vocal duties, and Live at Bush Hall, a film and concert recording consisting of all-new material, appeared in 2023. Ants From Up There has received universal critical acclaim, and debuted at No.3 on the UK Albums Chart. All of BCNR's album releases to-date are very highly recommended. In the music press, BCNR has been described as a centerpiece of a new scene of British rock bands rooted in experimental post-punk with sprechgesang (talk-singing) vocals, alongside contemporaries Black Midi, Squid, Dry Cleaning, Shame, Yard Act and Irish band Fontaines D.C. The band name Black Country, New Road, is named after a road in the West Midlands in England, which Isaac Wood suggested after using Wikipedia's 'random article' button.
Artist Website: blackcountrynewroad.bandcamp.com
Featured Albums: Black Country, New Road
Related Artists: Nervous Conditions
Collections: Movers Shakers
