Album Review: Black Country, New Road - Ants From Up There

“The video for “Concorde” posited the idea that the album title Ants From Up There refers to aliens from outer space, but, listening to the album itself, the title seems more likely to be about literal ants crawling through a crack in the ceiling of a run-down London flat. The record is rife with the trappings of humble domestic life, whether crumbs in bed, packed lunches or broken WiFi – and you get the feeling that this is Wood’s domain. As long as he’s in this realm with his beloved, the world feels beautiful and manageable. It’s only when the outside world and all its pressures start to close in that things get wobbly. It’s this push and pull between bliss and torment, so wonderfully elaborated by the band’s unique arrangements, that makes Ants a gripping, heartbreaking and life-affirming listen.”

Those scamps BCNR are back with a second album a year after the first - here’s my review of it.