29 May 2021

Band: BLACK MIDI
Who: Young tremendously compelling guitar-noise-explorers
from London scoring one of the best albums of 2019 with their
otherworldly debut Schlagenheim.

Album: CAVALCADE
Released: 28 May via Rough Trade
Order info: here

Info: Black Midi began writing music for a new album in late 2019, not long
after the release of their debut studio album, Schlagenheim, in June of that
year. The band chose to have a less improvisational approach to writing their
second studio album, in contrast to Schlagenheim which was crafted around
jam sessions. Prior to the recording sessions for the album, guitarist Matt
Kwasniewski-Kelvin took a break from the band, citing a need to focus on
his mental health, he took part in the writing sessions for Cavalcade, however.

The Guardian says: “It’s a successful evolution: the maelstrom of moods stormed
across the LP is masterful, from Hogwash and Balderdash’s slapstick skronk-funk riffage…
To focus on whether it lives up to the hype is to miss what Cavalcade shows us: a freakish, feverish parade of our inconceivable world and all its extremities, half-measures be damned.” Full review here. Score: 4/5

Turn Up The Volume: From outlandish sonority – think Scott Walker – to Zappa-esque adventurousness, from a ‘normal’ song (Marlene Dietrich to free jazz weirdness. The sonic mind of this impressively inventive band is both inscrutable and intriguing. Cavalcade confirms the experimental brilliance of their debut LP.

Singles: John L / Slow

– JOHN L –

– SLOW –

Full album…

BLACK MIDI: Facebook

(pictures by Turn Up The Volume! Brussels 2019)