<<<REGION B>>> WON'T PLAY ON U.S. PLAYERS <<<REGION B>>>

The sophomore record from London art rock group BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD comes hot off the heels of their 2021 breakthrough "For the first time", and whereas that debut served as a showcase for their eclectic palette - from epic post rock to no wave skronk to avant indie pop - "Ants From Up Here" refines these sounds into a unified whole that places them square between the traditions of leftfield UK pop and prog (think early KING CRIMSON) and 00s indie (SUNSET RUBDOWN, even bits of early ARCADE FIRE!), all while still retaining a unique and original sound. This will absolutely find its way onto some "best of" lists come year's end. On Ninja Tune and RECOMMENDED!

In this time of global uncertainty, the troubadours of BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD are here to address one of our society's most pressing questions: is twee back? Can we finally take our Oxford shirts & owl-print sweater vests back to the dry cleaners? Well... sort of. With the departure of frontman Isaac Wood, BC,NR certainly moves away from the nervous energy of a record like "Ants From Up There" towards a sunnier sound that has a kinship with BELLE & SEBASTIAN or CAMERA OBSCURA while titling their songs things like "Besties" and "Socks". But that undersells just how prog-ish this record is, particularly evoking Canterbury scene acts like CARAVAN and SOFT MACHINE with knotty composition and jazz-folk arrangement. Another zag from this band, but to the right ear this comes RECOMMENDED.

In this time of global uncertainty, the troubadours of BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD are here to address one of our society's most pressing questions: is twee back? Can we finally take our Oxford shirts & owl-print sweater vests back to the dry cleaners? Well... sort of. With the departure of frontman Isaac Wood, BC,NR certainly moves away from the nervous energy of a record like "Ants From Up There" towards a sunnier sound that has a kinship with BELLE & SEBASTIAN or CAMERA OBSCURA while titling their songs things like "Besties" and "Socks". But that undersells just how prog-ish this record is, particularly evoking Canterbury scene acts like CARAVAN and SOFT MACHINE with knotty composition and jazz-folk arrangement. Another zag from this band, but to the right ear this comes RECOMMENDED.

THE BODY continues their split release theme with this one with the grindcore band FULL OF HELL out of Maryland. Released the same week as their 2016 Thrill Jockey album & named after a famous Courtney Love quote, "One day..." finds the two groups pushing the limits of experimental metal with hints of doom, industrial & noise.