A defiant new sound from Black Country, New Road is bettered by the context of its creation. Isaac Woods’ departure led to the band parking their studio efforts and instead seeking a new voice on stage. Live at Bush Hall is a remarkable suggestion of where their sound would head as each member of the Windmill Scene band took on their fair share of instrumental and lyrical duties. Forever Howlong hears the overlap of support, the result of friendship and personal relationships being prioritised over the sound. We often hear of Pink Floyd studio rage, of on-stage Fleetwood Mac tensions, but are never shown the other end of the spectrum. What occurs when a band attempts to assure themselves of their skills? Forever Howlong is the result of three hard years redefining the status, and the necessity of comfort in the studio to create something honest, open and just as brutally observant as their very best works.
Forever Howlong features that, the fear of becoming a trendy social media presence on opener Besties transitions well into the extremes some go in maintaining their public image with The Big Spin. The maudlin tone and violent lyrics create a tremendous contrast, and this is where Black Country, New Road creates their very best work. Where The Big Spin may be over before it truly gets started, it does serve its purpose as a transition song, a comedown from the hard-hitting tempo of opening track Besties. Black Country, New Road has settled for a softer approach on many of their new songs. Gone are the volatile instrumentals, the booming presence of off-kilter cultural observances. In its place is a real fear of the expectations of life and the expectations we are told to follow to the letter. House, work, children, defy it and all fittings of life. Through the calmer tone, the softer-paced songs like Socks, there comes a new defiance. Keep the dreams alive even if the real world is closing in on your hope.
Defiance gets you through, and while the focus on vocal talent on Socks serves the song well, its sparse instrumentals provide a risk. Should the narrative falter, which it does occasionally, then Black Country, New Road, is exposed to the depths of art rock hell. Salem Sisters and follow up Two Horses hear those acoustic-reliant tones continue. Get comfortable with this, it is the new sound and Forever Howlong does well to convince of its depths. Hope is the core of these songs, and it has a refreshing layer of realism to it, an acceptance of what happens when life takes a turn. Two Horses is a delightfully responsible song for this tone, finding joy in the volatility Black Country, New Road can create with their instrumentals, almost out of the blue.
Another Windmill Scene collective obsessed with James Dean and the tragedy of a career cut short. Perhaps it reflects how young these artists are, they are the same age as the generation which has taken to them, and to throw them into the deep end of an always online culture is horrifying. Forever Howlong combats that with some incredible instrumental flavour, and consistently observant lyrics which pinpoint the strange cultural ticks which are growing in the modern world. Whisky-drinking, always online G-splitters who must make an association with tech at every turn. These fears are found in Forever Howlong, which is as scared of those individuals as it is defiant in the face of their existence.
Like any great album, further context to the singles is added with a listen-through of Forever Howlong. Happy Birthday is an instrumentally enlightening experience after the slow burn before it. But listen in that little closer, to those notes of tension, of hope when the going gets rough. In taking the time to fully develop and understand their feelings, Black Country, New Road presents a mature and reasonable next step. Out of the darkness and into the lighter thrills of the future. Often indirect but takes the emotional tones and suggestive nature as clarity. Forever Howlong is an open book with empty pages, hoping the listener can find it in themselves to relate, to observe their surroundings with the new context Black Country, New Road is working with. A sometimes challenging listen not because of the redefinition of Black Country, New Road but through space provided in those latter songs, the instrumentals of Nancy Tries to Take the Night leaving time for contemplation.
Let the mind think too long, be it in the silence after the end of the album or the instrumental steadiness heard throughout Forever Howlong, and you begin to question your lifestyle, your hopes, your faith. Do it. Go ahead. Black Country, New Road has offered a sincere invitation to repurposing all facets. Run through the streets as Nancy does and figure yourself out. What do we want is too big a question to answer but Black Country, New Road poses it with a gentle flourish to their extremes. Death and disorienting feedback from the joys of the passive day are struck. Rekindle your passions as Forever Howlong does for the band by listening closely, take note of this defiance. It is a magnificent step from Black Country, New Road, which survives a major overhaul of their sound.
