Last year, Black Country, New Road released “Ants From Up There” , their second Top 5 UK album debut in 12 months, following their Mercury Prize shortlisted debut “For the First Time”.
Fresh from the success of the album and with a full touring schedule ahead of them in 2023, and following the departure of frontman Isaac Wood, remaining members Lewis Evans, May Kershaw, Georgia Ellery, Luke Mark, Tyler Hyde and Charlie Wayne, now a six-piece, decided to write an entire new set of material to perform. They played to swelling crowds at festivals, including triumphant performances at Primavera, Green Man and Fuji Rock, entering a new musical phase as they navigated and developed songs that were just weeks old. They also toured the US with black midi and headlined two sold-out shows in New York.
These new performances saw the band garner widespread support from across the board with Rolling Stone UK describing their Green Man set as “unmissable”, and the Guardian going on to say that they were “greeted by something close to rapture.” These performances have also attracted a profile from the NY Times, multiple glowing live reviews, and a nomination for Best Live Performer at the AIM Independent Music Awards last year.
As the songs continued to develop on the road they decided to avoid conventional next steps. People waiting on new material have eight new, excellent songs to hear, but not in the way they might have expected. “We didn’t want to do a studio album,” says BC, NR pianist May Kershaw, who is one of the three band members, along with saxophonist Lewis Evans and bassist Tyler Hyde, now taking on vocal duties. “We wrote the new tracks specifically to perform live, so we thought it might be a nice idea to put out a performance.”
The result is a filmed live performance, directed by Greg Barnes and mixed by PJ Harvey collaborator John Parish, that took place over three nights at London’s Bush Hall. “It’s about capturing the moment,” says saxophonist and now vocalist Lewis Evans. “A little time capsule of these eight months that we’ve had playing these songs on the road.”
Despite the lack of studio material up to now, the three sold out shows in December saw an audience there ready to sing back every word of these new songs, learned from online clips and YouTube recordings alone, a nod to both the band’s resilience and to the dedication of their tight knit community of fans.
As the band look ahead to the rest of 2023 they are set to play further live dates across the world including shows and festivals in Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, Europe, and a short headline tour in the UK, bringing them to Southampton’s 1865 of May 2.
- For tickets to the Southampton gig, visit: the1865.store/events/black-country-new-road-2
- For more information about the tour, visit: blackcountrynewroad.com
- Picture by Holly Whitaker
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