by 
Back in 2022, just mere days before Black Country, New Road garnered critical acclaim with their album Ants from Up There, lead vocalist Isaac Wood announced that he would be stepping away from the band. Wood cited declining mental health as the primary reason for his departure. His deep voice and spoken-word style of singing were key to the appeal of the band’s first two albums.
Rather than splitting, the band decided the best they could do was adapt to their new circumstances. The multi-talented group adopted a collective style of songwriting where they write the songs together and see whose voice fits the tracks the best, similar to classic rock acts like Fleetwood Mac. In 2023 the band released their Live at Bush Hall album, a display of all new tracks where members switched off on the lead vocal.
Live at Bush Hall was very promising for the future of the Cambridge band. Songs like “I Won’t Always Love You” and “Laughing Song” reestablished the band as a powerhouse in the world of indie-folk and psychedelic rock. BCNR has such a distinct ability to incorporate all of their talents in a tight and satisfying way. However, it was clear in the live album that the band was still in a transition period.
Needless to say, Black Country, New Road had a lot to live up to with the release of their latest full-length album Forever Howlong. The record feels both like a thoughtful adaptation and respectful to what made the group appealing in the first place, even without Wood’s vocals.
The record entirely features vocal performances from the female members of the band: Tyler Hyde (bass), May Kershaw (keys) and Georgia Ellery (violin). I’m a big fan of this decision, as while Lewis Evan’s (saxophone) vocals were a welcome addition on Live at Bush Hall, the all-female cast gives the record a sense of cohesiveness that it would’ve been lacking otherwise.
The opening track and lead-single for Forever Howlong, “Besties” acts as a tone-setter for the rest of the album. The colorful instrumentation reestablishes the power the band creates through synchronicity. There are not many other bands who play so tightly with one another and sound this grandiose. The storytelling on the song is sprawling and detailed, indicating a key goal of the album’s effort; Forever Howlong is a collection of vignettes that are held together by the common theme of connection.
“Two Horses” is one of the more impressive cuts on the album. The buildup is satisfactory; the horns are full and the guitar work is precise. Ellery delivers easily one of the best vocal performances on the album, especially in the song’s crescendo. The lyrics feel rural and tell a captivating story about a lonely woman meeting a man at the bar who misuses her trust and kills her horses. A standout line for me:
Is this the one? Have I finally found a man to lean on? Will you help me and my horses on my way, Through night and day?
The dramatic finish of “Two Horses” leaves “Mary” behind in its wake. “Mary” is one of the quieter moments on the album. The stripped back instrumental features not much more than a slowly plucked guitar, a slide and a flute. What makes this track my personal favorite on Forever Howlong is the composition of the vocal layering. This is the only song in which all of the members’ vocals are utilized, at least as far as I’m able to tell. The story of “Mary” is a devastating one about her getting abused and bullied at school.
BCNR truly fires on all cylinders on “Nancy Tries to Take the Night”; this is one track where it feels that each member brought their absolute A-Game to the studio that day. The first two minutes are totally dominated by Luke Mark’s smooth nylon-string guitar picking, before Hyde’s vocals cut in singing about a woman named Nancy and her avoidance of motherhood.
Next come the flutes and saxophones, whose melodies ring like a police siren. The guitar changes tones when the drums kick in on the line “I tried to take the word and what you said, I tried to take the word but the word was dead”, and then all the musical components combine into a gorgeous finale.
There are a couple tracks on Forever Howlong like “The Big Spin” or “Happy Birthday” that don’t do as much lyrically or melodically as the album’s highlights. However, these tracks still serve their purpose to add to the sonic texture of the record. Furthermore, they honestly might not be for me as much as tracks like “Nancy Tries to Take the Night” or “Mary”. But you may find enjoyment out of them if they have their sonic texture that you prefer.
Forever Howlong is a welcome addition to Black Country, New Road’s insanely impressive small discography. It took them only three years since Wood’s departure to follow Ants from Up There. Them getting back on their feet to create an album this textured, dense and quality is a feat that should not be overlooked.
