For the first time - Black Country, New Road: Review
Black Country, New Road
are a London based post-punk band who turned heads with their debut single in 2019. After releasing a few more songs to continued masses of critical acclaim their debut album was one of the most highly anticipated in years. With a mere 6 song tracklist and some controversial re-recordings of fan favorite songs For The First Time has already become one of the most talked about records of 2021.
Review By Lav:
Just about a month ago when I listed my most anticipated releases of 2021, For The First Time was right up there at the top, at least among records that had been announced up to that point. Numerous times over the last 3 years the band has released singles I thoroughly enjoyed which had me beyond excited for the record despite the fact that there were only two new songs coming. This was before I learned that the bands first two singles, including their acclaimed breakout his Sunglasses, we're being re-recorded for album versions. Despite some controversy surrounding these tracks it should be no surprise to anyone that the resulting album is very good.
I need to get the most talked about part of the review out of the way first. Sunglasses was the first song we ever heard from the band back in 2019 and it's a near masterpiece. Fans were mixed on the idea of their being a new version of the song on the album and even more mixed once that version actually arrived. I have to come down in a pretty firm way on the debate straight away, I prefer the single version of Sunglasses to the version that appears on the album. However this isn't to say that the re-recording is bad however. The gritty guitar soloing that kicks off the track is new and it adds a full minute onto the track as a result. It works as a slow bridge up into the tracks murky visage, and its in this first passage of the track where most of the changes have occured. The first big change is that the performances have been loosened up in a major way with slurred guitars sliding in and out of the riffs in a way that is slightly more lifelike than the original. The biggest point of discussion has come from the vocal end as Isaac foregoes the neurotic performance from the single into something more emotional and less intimate this time around. It isn't bad by any means but I can't help but miss the panicked and dramatic performance he put on display for the original version of the track. After this comes the tracks title refrains and from here on out it is much more similar to the original version with the sole exception being the removal of a particular fan favorite lyric. There's no denying the track is still damn good it's simply hard to shake the fact that a better version exists out there.
Next up is Athens, France a song I liked but didn't love when it was originally released. Thankfully this track was also re-recorded and the results are improved lyrically and instrumentally. The tight guitar lines grab onto you from the tracks opening moments and Isaac's dark and focused vocal performance is fittingly eerie. One of the issues I do still have with the song is that compared to some of the other songs here the transitions between its passages do feel a little long and it makes the middle of the track slightly drag. Thankfully the song has a bright rise across its final two minutes or so that feels like nothing else on the album and a brief relief from its frequent anxiety. When all is said and done I quite enjoy the track.
Science Fair was a single I absolutely loved last year and it arrives on the record completely unchanged. It reminds me of an all time great Joy Division track Atrocity Exhibition with pinpoint percussion serving as the base for some wild instrumental and vocal distribes, the first of which is a wiry loud guitar freakout the opens the track with a bang.The entire verse sets up the songs very schoolboy like sense of anxiety describing an interaction with a girl that takes place quite literally at a science fair. Isaac's nervous and incredibly intense vocals proclaim "tomorrow, I take the reins" and "it's black country out there". There's another surreal and unpredictable instrumental freakout that leads into a tense bassline and an even darker second verse. Lyrically the visuals get even more intoxicating aa they describe an evocative stage performance that elicits a bit of an individuality crisis from Isaac. It's a tour de force song that I still can't get enough of.
Instrumental is the opening track and it's fittingly an instrumental. The song has an eerie key riff going throughout its runtime and messy drums that feel alive and unpredictable. At its most instrumentally dense moments the song is driving and dizzying in a way that feels like a refreshing tone setter. It makes good use of its runtime repeatedly upping the intensity with winding horns and more intense performances resulting in a blood pumping opener. Track X was released as a single earlier this year and at the time I mentioned that I thought I would appreciate it more within the tracklist of the album and that turned out to be the case. It has too much life and texture to just be considered an interlude and yet it almost feels like one, a breath of fresh air between two of the records grandest, longest tracks. The instrumental is really whet does it for me as a short accessable love song with slight subtle touches of keys and horns alongside a perfectly placed guitar riff and backing vocals. While the song doesn't have any grand transitions or crescendos the core of the tune is sweet and doesn't get old in the slightest.
Opus is the big 8 minute closer to the record and a song I was incredibly excited to hear, and it did not disappoint. It kicks off with a tense bassline and explosive pounding horns that build up into the songs first verse. The vocals and instrumental sway back and forth in a way that is beautiful but the songs dry distant percussion never stop feeling unsettling as it;s guided back into another up-tempo, explosive refrain. The track's take on the records often anxious themes are more directly proposed through the lyrics here and it takes time afterwards to slowly build around a tight guitar riff with splashes of drums crashing in. The track gets flat out theatrical with the "everything we built must fall into the rising flames" refrain that is immediately followed by its most chaotic and neurotic instrumental breakdown. It's an intense but very fitting ay to end the record off.
While For The First Time isn't perfect, it is a youthful, creative and absolutely intense post-punk record that lived up to the hype. While I have some minor complaints about songs here and there and an issue with the new version of Sunglasses, what the band has accomplished on the record is remarkable nonetheless. The long structured tracks, busy instrumental passages and impassioned and anxious lyricism all reminisce of different post-punk legends of old. While the band may have the capabilities to make something even grander next it's hard to argue that this isn't a massive triumph, as well as one of the best debut albums I've heard in years. 9/10
This cover is ok. Not great or show stopping bull but it's clearly made with intent and a little humor. The image is bad and it's funny because of the unsplash credit in the corner but the way they've laid everything out actually looks nice, mimicking a vintage style polaroid-esque style. I don't mind the text but I think if you finessed this it could've been a more successful cover. 5/10
