Ants From Up Here

Image courtesy of Unsplash.

Black Country, New Road (BC,NR) is a constantly evolving band. Born out of the late 2018 group Nervous Conditions, an ensemble that disbanded due to sexual assault allegations against lead singer Connor Browne, BC,NR quickly rose to cult status with the release of singles “Sunglasses” (2020) and “Athens, France” (2021). On these tracks Isaac Wood, the lead singer of BC,NR, formerly the guitarist of Nervous Conditions, sings about Kanye West, antidepressants, and being the “second best Slint tribute act.” This reference, accompanied by an eclectic assortment of instrumentation, encapsulates a classic BC,NR track from the For The First Time era. 

In October 2021, BC,NR announced their second album, Ants From Up There (AFUT), and dropped the lead single “Chaos Space Marine.” On this track, the band abandons their previous sound of building guitar riffs and spoken word vocals. Instead, Wood and crew opt for a more upbeat and poppy sound with lyrics about the titular Chaos Space Marine, a popular creature from the board game Warhammer 4000. Tyler Hyde, bassist of the band, stated in an Apple Music annotation that she and her bandmates “allowed [themselves] to get out all the stupid, funny joke style of playing.” This is evident, and the track presents itself as a form of escapism from the rest of the more somber tone and lyrical content of the album.

 Following the short and playful Space Marine, the gang serves up “Concorde.” The third song is the longest of the album so far, clocking in at just over six minutes, and is filled with bright percussion and a darker, personal subject matter.

The Concorde was a supersonic passenger jet that operated in the late ’90s and ceased usage in 2003 after a series of issues. While the motif is surely evocative, it doesn’t feel particularly poignant from a group that ponders the past on almost every track. However, just days before the release of AFUT, the band announced that Wood would be leaving the band due to mental health issues. With this news in mind, the lyric illustrates the no-win dilemma that stays through the album: The band flies at supersonic speed, hoping to reach stardom, all while Wood comes to a halt.

The Concorde is referenced throughout the rest of the album and stands out from the rest of the many references that the band is known for. 

Themes of anguish and worry continue in “Good Will Hunting” alongside unusually synth-heavy instrumentation. Wood calmly recalls “You call/I’ll be there/What’s more?/I’m scared of the phone,” and coolly describes the paralyzing parallel that both the stage and a relationship can hold all while an alluring guitar riff plays in the background. This calm continues for a few minutes until Wood ascends into a growl, saying “she had Billie Eilish style,” an illustrative lyric to some and a cringe-worthy pop culture reference to others.

The seventh of the ten tracks on AFUT is the short, instrumental “Marks Theme.” The piece is a touching tribute to saxophonist Lewis Evans’ uncle who passed away from COVID last year. While Evans’ saxophone is truly a warm and moving memorial, it takes away from the flow of the album and could have served better as the opener.

The album’s stand-out track, “The Place Where He Inserted The Blade”, draws you into the final triplet of intensely beautiful tracks with an alluring piano instrumental. Wood pulls no punches, voice quivering about how “You’re scared of a world where you’re needed/So you never made nice with the locals.”  Wood continues to softly spin a tail of fear and anxiety as violins, guitars, drums, and vocal layering build. Wood’s singing slowly becomes more and more agitated as the run time progresses, building into a triumphant chorus where he  recalls how “every time I try to make lunch/For anyone else, in my head/I end up dreaming of you.”

This dream, however, is shattered on the penultimate track, “Snow Globes.” Standing at a whopping nine minutes, the track takes its time and begins with three minutes of plotting guitars and a tender horn. While this instrumental lead-up may be grating to some, the vocal-less start makes Woods’ words seem ever more important.  Wood utters “We must let the clamp do what the clamp does best.” 

‘The clamp’, a representation of Wood’s anxieties and worries, is a concept that has been referenced on multiple BC,NR songs throughout their discography. This time, however, Wood opts to leave the clamp behind and instead ponders the storm of feelings that one deals with on the daily. The rest of the track’s five minutes of runtime is dedicated to one refrain: “Oh, god of weather, Henry knows/Snow globes don’t shake on their own, ah” Wood sings this over and over again, unable to understand the reality he is experiencing. While Wood’s vocal performance and dedication to the line are admirable, he is outshined by drummer Charlie Wayne’s breathtaking performance. Wayne seems to be in a world of his own as his frantic drumming overpowers Wood’s voice. No matter how loud the singer cries, the storm of drums is always louder. The snowglobe shakes and Wood admits defeat as the track slows down until nothing but barren guitar chords can be heard.

After having listeners sit through a seven minute cut followed by a nine minute track, many groups would slow it down with something a little more traditional to end the album. However, as fans should know by now, the band is anything but traditional.

“Basketball Shoes,” the final track, is a 13 minute long song that has been heard at live shows as early as 2019.  The cult classic (which could have a whole article written about it)  originally started as a commentary on parasocial relationships through the narrative of an erotic dream about Charli XCX. While there was something to be said for the discomfort of the original lyrics, Wood has thankfully toned down some of the cringier and uncomfortable moments of early iterations and opts for a more tasteful approach to the subject matter.

The track is split up into three main sections: A tone setting instrumental introduction that leads into the first verse, a frantic guitar accompanied by Wood singing about his hypothetical relationship, and a powerful final chorus where the group lays all cards on the table. The relation to the earlier, more blunt lyrics are all contained in this final chorus. Wood repeats “my bedsheets, now wet/Of Charlie, I pray to forget” as his vocal inflection and the group’s instrumentation become more and more unnerved.

Wood shrieks the final refrain while the rest of the band ferociously plays, and one can only hope that the anguish and pain that Isaac Wood channeled in his short career as frontman is left behind; for as much as one must appreciate all that he has done for the group, a happier and more peaceful reality, is hopefully on the horizon.