Black Country, New Road release new album “Ants From Up There” 

Black Country, New Road have released their critically acclaimed second album, “Ants From Up There” via Ninja Tune.

Following on almost exactly a year to the day from the release of their lauded debut “For the first time”, the band have harnessed the momentum from that record and run full pelt into their second, with “Ants From Up There” managing to strike a skilful balance between feeling like a bold stylistic overhaul of what came before, as well as a natural progression.

The new album sees the band once again making an incredibly impressive impact on fans and critics alike. Currently sitting at #1 Best Album of 2022 at Metacritic with a score of 93%, as well as #1 in Any Decent Music’s Top Rated New Albums, and joint first in Album Of The Year’s Highest Rated Albums of 2022, the album has earned plaudits across the board including being named Album of the Month in Uncut, and featuring as a lead review in MOJO and The Times, as well as racking up multiple 5 star reviews from the likes of NME, The Independent, The Line Of Best Fit, Gigwise, and more.

Speaking on the release, the band says “We’re excited to be releasing our second album Ants From Up There. Releasing two albums in one year has been a fun and interesting challenge. At the start of 2021 we decided to make something really good together. We were lucky enough to leave London and cross a small body of water to go to the Isle of Wight to record the album – being in the countryside was a creatively enriching experience. Ants From Up There was made possible in the recording centre thanks to the hard work of Sergio Maschetzko and David Granshaw. We’re incredibly proud of it. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed making it.”

Black Country, New Road’s debut “For the first time” was a certain 2021 Album of the Year, having received ecstatic reviews across the board, as well as being shortlisted for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize. Released in February to extensive, global, critical support – perhaps best summed up by The Times who wrote in their 5/5 review that they were “the most exciting band of 2021” and The Observer who called their record “one of the best albums of the year” – the album made a significant dent on the UK Albums Chart where it landed at #4 in its first week, a remarkable achievement for a largely experimental debut record. The album also reached #1 on Any Decent Music, #2 at Album Of The Year and sat at #1 on Rate Your Music for several weeks, remaining the record to generate the most fan reviews and site discussion there this year. Black Country, New Road were also declared Artist Of The Week and Album Of The Week by The Observer, The Line Of Best Fit and Stereogum, and saw features, including covers and reviews, from the likes of Mojo, NPR, CRACK, Uncut, The Quietus, Pitchfork, The FADER, Loud & Quiet, The Face, Paste, The Needle Drop, DIY, NME, CLASH, So Young, Dork and more.

With “For the first time” the band melded klezmer, post-rock, indie and an often intense spoken word delivery. On “Ants From Up There” they have expanded on this unique concoction to create a singular sonic middle ground that traverses classical minimalism, indie-folk, pop, alt rock and a distinct tone that is already unique to the band.

Their latest single “Snow Globes” marks one the album’s most powerful moments. The track sees the band shift between delicacy and enormity, finding them at their most potent and arresting.

At the start of the year, the band also released a video for their most recent single “Concorde” which was directed by Maxim Kelly and saw the band collaborate heavily with independent production company Caviar. Already attracting nearly half a million views on YouTube, this was the first video of it’s kind from the band with sci-fi b-movie themes and featuring a number of surprises.

“Concorde” preceded the band’s highly emotive, stripped back single, “Bread Song”, which has been a live favourite amongst fans since it’s reveal earlier this year, and has since gone on to earn wide acclaim across a number of publications, including the likes of The Needle Drop, who says band is “really shaping up to be one of the most interesting…contemporary bands out there right now.

The band also accompanied the announcement of their new album with the infectiously chaotic yet coherent single “Chaos Space Marine”, which received a huge reaction from fans and media alike, with publications such as NPR describing it as “a thrilling transcontinental epic,” and the Times calling them “one of the most exciting and unusual new bands in Britain,” as well as many more.

Recorded at Chale Abbey Studios, Isle Of Wight, across the summer with the band’s long-term live engineer Sergio Maschetzko, it’s also an album that comes loaded with a deep-rooted conviction in the end result. “We were just so hyped the whole time,” says bassist Tyler Hyde. “It was such a pleasure to make. I’ve kind of accepted that this might be the best thing that I’m ever part of for the rest of my life. And that’s fine.”

“Ants From Up There” is available on Deluxe 4LP box set*, Collector’s edition bronze 2LP [d2c only], Limited edition blue 2LP, Standard black 2LP, Deluxe 2CD*, Standard CD, Cassette and Digital formats.

*Black Country, New Road Live at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, mastered by Christian Wright at Abbey Road, is available as part of the Deluxe LP and 2CD versions of “Ants From Up There”.

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