Ants From Up There | TURN UP THE VOLUME

SPIN MAGAZINE – 30 Best Albums Of 2022 (So Far)

9 June 2022

SPIN (American webzine): “Maybe 2022 was just front-loaded and the final six months will be less eventful. (Judging by the release calendar, that’s probably a bad prediction.) Either way, we had trouble even narrowing this down to 30. Let’s meet back here at year’s end and see how things shake out.”

– TOP 3 –

1. A Light for Attracting Attention by THE SMILE (with Thom Yorke)

“Mangled riffs and odd time signatures abound, and Yorke’s lifelong dread has never sounded more in tune with the outside world. A Light for Attracting Attention is so good, it almost makes you want to send Radiohead’s other three members a sympathy card.”

Stream here…

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2. ‘Caprisongs’ by FKA TWIGS

“A lockdown album billed as a mixtape, Caprisongs showed a less guarded and precise side of FKA Twigs. Perhaps that conceit served a deeper purpose, helping spur on some of her most playful and satisfying material.”

Stream here…

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3. ‘Ants From Up Here’ by BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD

“It’s hard to imagine Black Country, New Road without singer-guitarist Isaac Wood, who quit the band for mental health reasons. It’s especially hard to imagine after Ants From Up There. While their 2020 debut positioned the seven-piece as their era’s elite revivalists of talky post-punk, the second album took a gentle turn toward melody. BCNR created a romantic, pastoral landscape out of their jazz-flavored noise rock, even hinting at folk and chamber music while drawing on just a bit of Revolution Summer fire.”

Stream here…

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FULL LIST HERE

Sonic Adventurers BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD For The Second Time With New LP ‘ANTS FROM UP HERE’

Posted on February 4, 2022 by JL

4 February 2022

(Press photo by Rosie Foster)

Band: BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD

Who: Experimental 7-piece from London producing a hypnotic mix
of prog and math rock, jazz, post-psych-punk, and other musical roads.

In February of 2021, they impressed big time with their debut full
length For The First Time entering indie land by the front gate.

New album: ANTS FROM UP THERE
Out: 4 February 2022 – order here

Tyler Hyde (bass player): “We were just so hyped the whole time. 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.”

UNCUT (British music monthly magazine): “Ants From Up There is often beautiful, but its not an album you can listen to casually. Its relentless emotional pummelling is quite an experience, a rollercoaster ride for the soul that is likely to leave you feeling distinctly and permanently rearranged.” Score: 9/10.

Turn Up The Volume: The good news: this second time is as fascinating as what they did for the first time. Adventures in Hi-Fi. Puzzling, compelling and perplexing at times. The bad news: vocalist/guitarist Isaac Wood left the band just last week, more info here. His unique vox was essential for their whole sound. I wonder if the original sonic soul of this remarkable collective can be maintained with another singer.

Singles: Concorde / Chaos Space Marine / Bread Song

– CONCORDE –

– CHAOS SPACE MARINE –

– BREAD SONG –

Full album here…

Buy/stream here…

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BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD: Facebook

BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD Share Another Spectacular Piece From Forthcoming LP

Posted on January 20, 2022 by JL

New striking strokes

20 January 2022

(Press photo by Rosie Foster)

Band: BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD

Who: Experimental 7-piece from London producing a hypnotic mix
of prog and math rock, jazz, post-psych-punk, and other musical roads.

In February of 2021, they impressed big time with their debut full
length For The First Time entering indie land by the big gates.

New album: ANTS FROM UP THERE
Out: 4 February 2022 – order here

New single: SNOW GLOBES
The 4th piece we get to hear

Charlie Wayne (drummer) says: “Snow Globes was one of the songs which had
existed before we wrote the majority of the songs on AFUT. Though it’s a pretty good representation of the musical world we wanted to explore on the album at large. Rather
than writing a song with a number of distinct sections we wanted to see what we could do
with one continuous riff. It was a real exploration in trying to create something maximalist whilst limiting ourselves with minimal musical choices.

Play this a couple of times and you’re hooked. One repetitive guitar riff,
some drums, some violins, excorsistic vocals, one hellacious eruption.

Spectacular stuff…

BLACK COUNTRY NEW ROAD: Facebook

All 4 singles together on Spotify…

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BLACK COUNTRY NEW ROAD: Facebook

New Albums In 2022 – Second One By Fascinating Collective BLACK COUNTRY NEW ROAD Next Month

Posted on January 11, 2022 by JL

11 January 2022

(Press photo by Rosie Foster)

Band: BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD

Who: Experimental 7-piece from London producing a hypnotic mix
of prog and math rock, jazz, post-psych-punk, and other musical roads.

In February of 2021, they impressed big time with their debut full
length For The First Time entering indie land by the big gates.

New album: ANTS FROM UP THERE
Out: 4 February 2022 – order here

Press info: Following on almost exactly a year to the day from the release of their acclaimed 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.

Singles: Concorde / Chaos Space Marine / Bread Song

– CONCORDE –

– CHAOS SPACE MARINE –

– BREAD SONG –

All three on Spotify…

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BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD: Facebook

Sound-Challenging Squad BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD Canned Their 2nd Album And Share Its Lead Single

Posted on October 14, 2021 by JL

Daily electricity to load your batteries

14 October 2021

(Press photo by Rosie Foster)

Britpop is back, but not poppy, nor chart-orientated, nor with a macho rock ‘n roll
attitude. No, new British bands like Black Midi, The Murder Capital (well, actually,
they’re Irish), and Black Country, New Road explore other directions.

These young gunslingers dive into not-commerce-orientated sonic territories resulting in experimental exploits of their own containing prog and math rock, jazz, post-psych-punk, and other musical challenges. I agree they do not invent a new wheel, but the way these bands turn different genres upside down and create an adventurous sound without resonating arty-farty or complex is pretty terrific.

One of them, London’s collective BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD stunned with their brilliant jazz-infused debut album For The First Time early this year. And they’re ready
for a second time with the follow-up ANTS FROM UP THERE. Out next year, on 22 February. Order info here.

Press statement: “Almost exactly a year to the day from the release of their acclaimed 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 skillful balance between feeling like a bold stylistic overhaul of what came before, as well as a natural progression.”

Along with this announcement we get the lead single.

CHAOS SPACE MARINE is “the best song we’ve ever written. We threw in every idea anyone had with that song. So the making of it was a really fast, whimsical approach – like throwing
all the shit at the wall and just letting everything stick.” says frontman Isaac Wood.

Sounds like great shit to me.

Smell here…

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BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD: Facebook