Following the release of their generational album, “Ants From Up There,” in 2022 to heavy critical acclaim, it seemed that the British collective would emerge as one of the leading figures of rock in the 2020s. However, behind the scenes, lead singer Isaac Wood had stepped away from the band days before the album debut for mental health reasons, remaining out of the public eye ever since. Black Country, New Road (BC, NR) cancelled their early 2022 tour, never playing a single track off of their most groundbreaking album ever since.
What followed could have been a slow dissolution, instead, BC, NR had begun to reinvent itself. Their 2023 stopgap, “Live at Bush Hall,” is a farewell to the Wood era and a workshop for their new identity, sharing vocal duties between three of their members and foregrounding a brighter, more communal songwriting voice. That workshopping now finds its fullest realization on their latest LP released in early April of 2025, “Forever Howlong,” an album that entirely sidesteps the Slint-inspired math rock legacy they originated from.
“Forever Howlong” lacks the harrowing tone of Isaac Wood’s BC, NR, blossoming fully into a state of fantastical whimsy. Trading post-rock for something closer to pastoral folk and baroque pop, the album leans heavily on harpsichord, recorders, violin and saxophone, evoking influences like early Kate Bush, Fairport Convention and even the eccentric chamber pop of the “Hunky Dory” era Bowie. Tracks like “Besties” shine with storybook playfulness, while “For The Cold Country” stretches into a prog-folk epic t
hat recalls British folk revival filtered through modern art rock sensibilities. There are still traces of the band’s math rock origin in the shifting time signatures and meticulous arrangements, but the angularity feels high-spirited instead of dread-filled. Where “Ants from Up There” thrived on emotional rupture, “Forever Howlong” luxuriates in texture and color, creating a world throughout the duration of the record.
“Forever Howlong” is completely beautiful, another skilled venture this time into a fantasy world inspired by their Cambridge origin, and although at times it feels disjointed and without a clear core, it still shines nonetheless. If this is the direction BC, NR takes, it may not be expected, but it definitely is a welcome surprise.
