Lav's Music Corner

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 t...