A miraculous new beginning

On "Forever Howlong", Black Country, New Road manage the feat of musically reinventing themselves on their - already difficult - third album.

It is the Cambridge band's first studio release since " Ants From Up There" in 2022, which followed just one year after "For The First Time", Black Country, New Road's debut, which was nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize. With "Ants From Up There", the band made it into the top 10 in Germany and even reached number three in the UK. Unfortunately, singer and guitarist Isaac Wood left the band for health reasons, but Black Country, New Road were able to compensate for this loss as a collective. After a period of musical transition, the sextet is now making a fresh start and undergoing another miraculous musical transformation.

The long-awaited "Forever Howlong" was produced by James Ford, who has previously worked with Arctic Monkeys, Depeche Mode and Blur, among others. The eleven new tracks show BC,NR (the official abbreviation) in a new form, in which the vocal duties - and most of the songwriting - are split between Tyler Hyde (bass), Georgia Ellery (violin) and May Kershaw (keyboards).

"Forever Howlong" is an ambitious, meticulously crafted album that combines a wide range of influences, from folk to prog and baroque pop to a touch of alt-rock. Joanna Newsom and Randy Newman can be heard here as well as Fiona Apple and Janis Ian. Always woven into this unmistakable, unique sound for which Black Country, New Road are so revered by their fans.