“Prog-folk”.
Described as “prog-folk”, “pop-prog” and “baroque-pop” Black Country, New Road captured this reviewer’s imagination before they played a single note. Include their further classifications of “alt-rock”, “post-rock” and “post-punk” and the mind, genre-wise, becomes somewhat blown. Black Country, New Road is a group of six highly talented musicians, a mix of classically trained and self-taught. Formed seven years ago in Cambridge, these multi-instrumentalists have drawn plaudits from the specialist music to the national press. Folk and pop abound but what particularly grabs the attention is the charming eccentricity with which they harmonise around sparkling melodies. Lyrically there is a lot of folk inspiration and readers of a certain age will recognise the prog-rock we thought had been safely confined to the 1970s.
Black Country, New Road (named after a road in the West Midlands) is more than a band or group, they are more of a musical collective, such is the way they share and participate. There are three vocalists (Georgia Ellery, Tyler Hyde and May Kershaw), alternating or singing as one, specialise in what is known as “sprechgesang” or talk-singing. That and the frequent change of tempo, stop-start almost, give them a very quirky English feel. At times it feels as if songs are just going to fall apart, they are so complicated but the strong melodies hold everything together.
After a theatrical harpsichord ‘Besties’ opens the album with youthful joy, the sax hinting at the theme of unrequited desire. ‘The Big Spin’ jumps around all over the place matching an urge for a simpler life. The main prog event is the six minutes of ‘For The Cold Country’, an epic involving a fictional knight. The vocals are complex, the harmonies duck and dive, in range and speed. A more robust sound comes on ‘Happy Birthday’ a glorious melange of sound, banjo, mandolin and woodwind. Whether that is rock is up to you.
“Quail thighs/ Grilled on both sides” evokes the summer party of ‘Salem Sisters’, a light and delicate affair. “I shall boil some beans/ I should get my vitamin B” on the title track is another example of their quintessential English whimsy. Americana this is not, but “Forever Howlong” could be one for the more folk-minded reader. There is no doubting Black Country, New Road’s unquestionable abilities but for this reviewer, firmly entrenched at the grittier end of the musical spectrum, this is just a bit twee.
