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Black Country, New Road announce return with second album ‘Ants From Up There’

The ten-track LP is out February 4 on Ninja Tune — listen to the lead single, 'Chaos Space Marine,' now

By Marissa Cetin

Black Country New Road pose live
Black Country New Road, 2021 (Picture: Rosie Foster)

Black Country, New Road are back with their second album.

‘Ants From Up There’ will arrive on February 4 via Ninja Tune and follows the seven-piece’s acclaimed debut LP ‘For The First Time’, which was released last February and earned them a spot on the 2021 Mercury Prize shortlist.

The first taste of the record has arrived in lead single ‘Chaos Space Machine’, which singer Isaac Wood hails as “the best song we’ve ever written”. You can listen to it below.

His bandmate, bassist Tyler Hyde, also explained that the high energy of making the record is reflected in the final result.

Hyde, the daughter of Underworld’s Karl Hyde, added: “We were just so hyped the whole time,” she says. “It was such a pleasure to make. I’ve kind of accepted that this might be the best thing that I’m ever part of for the rest of my life. And that’s fine.”

The full group, which also features May Kershaw on keys, drummer Charlie Wayne, guitarist Luke Mark, Lewis Evans on sax and violinist Georgia Ellery, will head out on tour in support of the album later this month. The UK, EU and US schedule features stops in Paris, Prague, Amsterdam, Dublin, Boston, Brooklyn and San Francisco.

See the complete tracklisting for ‘Ants From Up There.’

  1. ‘Intro’
  2. ‘Chaos Space Marine’
  3. ‘Concorde’
  4. ‘Bread Song’
  5. ‘Good Will Hunting’
  6. ‘Haldern’
  7. ‘Mark’s Theme’
  8. ‘The Place Where He Inserted the Blade’
  9. ‘Snow Globes’
  10. ‘Basketball Shoes’

The band previously told NME that the record will be “sad, epic and possibly more universally likeable… possibly.”

“We have figured out what we’re trying to say, so it makes a bit more sense,” Hyde told NME. “Some of the songs are shorter. We attempted to write songs that were three and a half minutes.”

Saxophonist Lewis Evans continued: “We were like, ‘Oh these are all going to be three minute bangers!’ and then they were like five minutes. It’s so annoying, but it feels like it’s needed content-wise.”