As of now, Black Country, New Road has been around since their first singles in 2019, and have gone through quite a bit as a band.
This is the first official album the band has released since former lead singer Isaac Wood made his departure back in 2022, only a few days before their second album released, “Ants From Up There,” a phenomenal album that resonated heavily with lots of its listeners, with its more lush and emotional take on post rock and art rock.
Since then, the band released “Live at Bush Hall” a year later, a live album that saw Black Country, New Road delving into more of a baroque pop style with their music, while still containing some of that emotional post rock that listeners came to love. It also featured bassist Tyler Hyde, pianist May Kershaw, and saxophonist and flutist Lewis Evans for vocals.
Now with “Forever Howlong” having been released, the band has further delved into their new baroque pop style, which was especially apparent within their singles, “Besties,” “Happy Birthday,” and “For the Cold Country.”
This time, the band shifted to having all female-led vocals, with Hyde and Kershaw maintaining their roles, along with violinist Georgia Ellery. Each song has at least one of them singing, all except for “Mary.”
As mentioned before, each of the singles gives an idea of the sound the album is going for. “Besties,” the introduction, is a sweeter tune with a more standard song structure, with every instrument enhancing that structure. Ellery is on vocals, and her softer yet more playful clashes with the bright instrumentation very well.
“Happy Birthday” has Hyde on vocals, and the song takes a bit more of a sinister tone in my opinion. It has many dynamic switch ups, one of them grinding the track to a complete halt, as Hyde’s singing becomes almost ghost-like, before the band bursts back to have one final jam.
“For the Cold Country” is the final single, coming in at around six minutes long. Kershaw sings here, and her style and the song’s pacing is very reminiscent of her song on “Live at Bush Hall,” that being “Turbines/Pigs,” as both songs start slow, moving quicker at points before settling back down, all while building up to an emotionally overwhelming climax. While “Turbines/Pigs” is more emotional, “For the Cold Country” feels much darker and unnerved, as the band at the end all play their instruments as loudly as possible before stopping, not ending on any individual chord and letting Kershaw and the others finish with staccato vocals.
The pacing of these songs at some points can feel rather flawed, especially with “The Big Spin” and “Socks.” “The Big Spin’s” first half sounds beautiful, with its chorus specifically sounding beautiful yet very heavy, but it ends very quietly and a bit too slowly. “Socks,” while having some of the same highlights, also has points where it grinds to a complete halt, but it feels much less earned than it did on “Happy Birthday.”
“Salem Sisters” does bring up these flaws though, as it pacing-wise is pretty straightforward, with its time signature switches feeling earned. I love how while Hyde sings, the other vocalists chime in through some portions of the background throughout the song.
“Two Horses” starts similarly like these shorter songs on the album, but its main highlight would have to be within its second half, as the drum’s hi-hats and guitars kick into a faster pace, only building with the other instruments. The song itself also has a sort of story, describing Ellery falling in love before realizing that this man had ulterior motives, taking any sense of hope in her heart for true love that she thought she had.
“Mary” sees all the vocalists singing together with no drums and more of an emphasis on the other instruments. However, while this song is pretty, it is easily the most underwhelming on the album, sounding equally flawed in mixing, and having a lack of structure.
“Nancy Tries to Take the Night” however is one of the best on the entire album, with its story being easily the most captivating and emotional off of the entire album. Not only that, but it is also one of the longer songs that I would argue it being perfectly paced. despite its slower moments. It also has some of the best instrumentation on the album, the second half being the highlight with the quick and complicated drum pattern that bursts through the quiet, along with the quick saxophone and piano melody that they repeat flawlessly. The song consistently builds before eventually ending very quietly.
“Forever Howlong,” while not a complete standout, has grown on me a considerable amount within my listens. Kershaw is on vocals, and the only instruments on the track used are recorders, or some other type of woodwind instrument, and strings. The track is a lot quieter than most on the album, but it is very beautiful, especially near the end when all of the instruments come together and swell.
“Goodbye (Don’t Tell Me)” ends the album on a lighter, but very satisfying note. While not the most dynamic, the song has the most memorable melodic moments on the entire album, especially with its chorus. It feels like a relaxing epilogue to the inner turmoil of some of these songs. Lyrically, the song sees Ellery without a romantic partner, but finding solace and happiness with the love she has for her own self. It not only sees as a fitting ending to the turmoil of “Two Horses,” but it is a fitting ending to the rest of the album.
While it is not perfect, and while the impact of Isaac Wood leaving can be felt, this album is still very good, with this new baroque pop mix with their usual post rock style fits the band fantastically. In fact, some of the songs on here are some of their best, like “Nancy Tries to Take the Night” and “For the Cold Country.” The album overall feels a lot more positive and hopeful compared to their other releases too. Overall, while the songs’ pacing issues can bring it down, “Forever Howlong” shows that the band is still able to create music with their hint of magic that they used back in albums like “Ants From Up There” and “For the First Time.” I would give this album a seven out of ten.