Forever Howlong - Black Country, New Road: Review
Review by Lavender:
Black Country, New Road is a band that requires more discussion than most that I cover on this blog. At the start of this decade, they erupted into the music scene with their universally acclaimed breakthrough single "Sunglasses." The song set the tone for their neurotic, monologue-driven, compositionally winding brand of post-punk, as well as setting expectations extremely high for the band's eventual debut. It's a bar that they eventually met with their 2021 debut masterwork For the first time, and one they would go on to surpass just the next year on their sophomore effort Ants From Up There. I'll put my cards on the table and confess that I think Ants From Up There is a true masterpiece, my favorite album of the decade so far and, if you pressed me, probably in the ballpark of my favorite albums of all time. But just as the album was released, frontman Isaac Wood announced his departure from the band, citing mental health issues. While the exit of the band's primary songwriter and one of their driving creative forces only added to the mythos of Ants, it threw the band into a limbo and made it entirely unclear how they would go forward.
Their first step was a 2023 live album that felt like a clearing of the vault of old material not quite destined for a new album, but worth releasing if you ask me. That live album signified the shift into Forever Howlong. BC,NR's third album, replaces Isaac's vocals with three different members alternating singing duties and shifts the style of their sound dramatically in a direction of twee indie pop that's a far cry from the post-punk they rode in on. But what hasn't changed is the depth of instrumental talent, ambition, and sixth sense for dramatic and compelling compositions, and as a result, Forever Howlong absolutely feels like it belongs within the legacy of what remains one of the best bands around.
Forever Howlong is a great example of how singles can reveal themselves once you hear them within the full context of a record, although to be completely honest, I already liked all the singles going into the album. “Besties” was our first taste of the record and fittingly it comes first in the tracklist. I love the girlish vocals and the slinkier twee instrumentation. When the layered vocals come in, it feels like cracks start to form in the song's charming foundation, and the instrumental starts to wander to seedier places to match. It’s one of many moments that the band makes thematic twists and turns feel so much more dramatic through accompanying instrumental shifts.
Next up was “Happy Birthday,” which I still think is a pretty mixed bag of a song that can definitely border on overwriting at points, even if the rush into the chorus is a fantastic moment. More importantly, it grew on me at least a little bit in the transition from single to full album. The best of the bunch turned out to be the final single “For The Cold Country,” whose composition oscillates from a chilling sway to absolutely thrilling climaxes in the way so many good BCNR songs always have. It’s also an instrumental and vocal wonder, with so many of the sounds on the track adding up to staggeringly beautiful moments.
More highlights are in the mix among the deep cuts. “The Big Spin” is a great moment early on the album with a circusy push and pull that grabs me right away. I love the way it shifts from tense and dramatic to swaying indie bliss. It might be my favorite vocal performance on the entire album from May Kershaw, as everything just swells around her beautiful, whimsical vocals exactly like a great Spellling song. The aptly titled closer “Goodbye” is another huge highlight, building from gentler opening notes to shimmering highs. It's the band's newfound tweet style taken to its best conclusion right at the album's final moments.
Forever Howlong keeps up one of my favorite trends of Black Country, New Road's first two albums, having at least one song that is the best fucking song I've ever heard. On this record, that song is the masterpiece “Nancy Tries To Take The Night.” It begins with a wandering intro that will feel compositionally familiar for any fans of the band, with a gentle but lively sequence of plucked strings. When Tyler's voice comes in, it's an utterly magical moment and one that has a few attention-grabbing lyrics right out of the gate. The smattering saxophone and gentle banjo foreshadow the coming rush of instrumentation, and it all arrives at the absolute perfect moment, erupting out of dramatic tension into a gorgeous climax. The song also has a deeply engaging narrative with a bleak ending that still hits me hard after dozens of listens and deserves to be experienced blind.
Other points on the record dabble in similarly wandering compositions that have become a bit of a hallmark for the band. After all, what's a pair of “Basketball Shoes” without “Socks,” the latter being a song whose first half drags a bit before eventually reaching a soaring, optimistic high point and ending on a cute and funny moment. “Salem Sisters” gets off to a bit of a hokey start, but eventually the rumbling drum lines and group vocals usher in a much stronger second half to the song.
Hokey is a word that pops up a few times on the record, normally during its worst moments. The title track serves first and foremost as an exhale from the bleak finale of “Nancy.” It has a playful style that bounces between silly in a good way and occasionally kind of unserious in an incredibly grating way. Speaking of which, “Two Horses” is a story song whose lyrics are definitely worth digging into. And they're worth digging into because actually listening to the song itself can be really painful as it wears out its welcome with these tongue-in-cheek western motifs that don't feel in line with the tone of the rest of the album at all.
Forever Howlong isn't an era-defining masterpiece, but expecting that from it was always unfair. With slightly less sonic ambition to commit to the despondent poetry of Isaac Wood, the band allows itself a much more fluid and playful push and pull than ever before. Several songs on the record sound genuinely fun, a word I'd never use to describe either of the band's first two albums. But within those bright folds is a record that still very much has a handle on the instrumental genius occupying its lineup and still isn't afraid to test listeners' ability to follow along the breeziest whimsy and the darkest despair. 7.5/10
For more indie check out my review of the new Perfume Genius album Glory
