Black Country, New Road: Ants from Up There (2LP) [NINJA TUNE]

Why you'll love it

Ants from Up There went Top 3 in the UK, was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, and is regularly named one of the best albums of the decade so far: huge, emotional, slow-building songs that pay off spectacularly.

This edition

• 2LP set, 10 tracks
• Ninja Tune pressing
• Produced by Sergio Maschetzko

About the album

Black Country, New Road were seven young musicians from London's Windmill scene, playing a mix of post-rock, chamber pop, klezmer and indie rock with saxophone, violin and keys. Their second album, written in lockdown and recorded at Chale Abbey on the Isle of Wight, is warmer and more open-hearted than their debut, and it's a stunner.

Singer Isaac Wood left the band just days before it came out, which gives the record an extra layer of heartbreak. "Concorde" and "Good Will Hunting" are gorgeous, "Bread Song" is fragile and tender, and the closing run of "Snow Globes" and "Basketball Shoes" builds to one of the most cathartic endings of any modern rock record.

Also at Kops: more Black Country, New Road on vinyl · browse Alternative

Tracklist

Listen

On Ninja Tune, first out in 2022.