Menu
In a 2021 interview, bassist Tyler Hyde of Black Country, New Road says, “We’re just seven best mates making music. The attention is an honour but I don’t really connect with it.” At the time, the band was riding an unexpected crest in Indie post-rock music, nominated for England’s fairly prognostic Mercury Price for Album of the Year and labeled by Mojo as Britain’s best new band. Self-considered a collective, non-leader but singer/songwriter/guitarist Isaiah Wood would shortly leave the band, leaving them without the stylistic focal point that was a greater percentage share of their acclaim.
What to do?
Not unlike 70’s Genesis, when your singer leaves and you know you’ve got a great chemistry, you find answers within the band, in this case, four and counting to take the lead. At Variety Playhouse, a near sold-out audience welcomed the band to Atlanta, absent expectations of the band’s first two albums that brought them acclaim. Intentionally, the band has reshaped themselves with new music rather than interpreting the not-so-old material’s shadow. The band released Live at Bush Hall as they began to tour, a strong outing and a clear signal to fans that they had moved on.
The collective approach plays out on tour. Arranged in a semi-circle, they play largely to whoever is singing. Without the ubiquitous singer at the front, the inward interaction all but excludes the audience, with only pianist/singer May Kershaw periodically stealing a glance towards the audience. On one song, May and violinist Georgia Ellery take over while the other four members sit on the floor to the side talking lightly and sharing smiles. It’s a bunch of friends connected through music, and they’re inviting you to peer their den. It works. A sofa and a table lamp would seal the deal, but maybe not for hauling around the world.
Stylistically, each of their songs are different as expected as each singer writes their own lyrics, but what was maybe more heavily post-punk has leaned more to an art-house feel. It was an engaging performance and in many ways still sounds similar to what the band has done previously, but the truly collective approach diffuses the band’s identity from what was more recognizably “them.” If fans liked them before Isaiah Wood left, there’s still no reason for anyone not to like the now.
It’s a different vibe, moving from a male voice to primarily three females, but they have their own vibe. And, gracious, with flute, sax, lute, accordion, violin, piano/keyboard and/or an electric bass at times played with a bow, the band creates all kinds of experimental havoc within their complex song structures, from their hushed subtleties to their driving exclamation points. “Nancy Tries to Take the Night” shown particularly brightly, in my view. Maybe at some point they’ll settle into at least an instrumental version of “Basketball Shoes,” a lengthy fan favorite that doesn’t need vocals.
This was the final stop of the band’s U.S. tour, and they didn’t show any wear. Given their fairly high production rate of new songs, hopefully they’ll release a studio album soon.
Also, Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin formerly of Black Midi opened the evening on solo acoustic guitar to a very appreciative crowd.
Setlist:
