Black Country, New Road

The British art-rock group Black Country, New Road formed in London in 2018 after the break-up of Nervous Conditions. Former bandmates Georgia Ellery (violin) Lewis Evans (saxophone), Tyler Hyde (bass guitar), May Krenshaw (keyboards), Charlie Wayne (drums), and Isaac Wood (guitar and vocals) wanted to stay together, and released their first single, “Athens, France” in 2019. A musically experimental collective that favors long tracks with shifts in both pacing and genres, they added a seventh member, guitarist Luke Mark, before releasing their sophomore single, “Sunglasses”. They formed a close relationship with the like-minded band Black Midi and performed together regularly as Black Midi, New Road. They remained a live draw with their high-energy shows. The group issued another new single in 2020, “Science Fair”, and in February of 2021, they dropped their debut album, For the First Time, an LP that attempted to capture the energy of their live shows while also branching out into more intimate territory. The album was both a commercial and critical success, receiving a Mercury Prize nomination in 2021 and reaching Number 4 on the UK Albums Chart. For their second album, Ants from Up There –released in February 2022 on UK label Ninja Tune–the band called on their live sound engineer Sergio Maschetzko to produce the sessions comprising the album, bottling the true essence of their live act. The LP, which is the last one to feature lead vocalist and guitarist Isaac Wood, who left the band on 31 January 2022 due to mental health reasons, gave Black Country, New Road, their highest-charting record to date, going in at Number 3 on the UK Albums Chart. In 2025, they returned with third studio album Forever Howlong, which was intended as a follow-up to Ants from Up There. Produced by James Ford, the LP went to number three in the UK.