Prior to this album, Black Country, New Roads - For the first time turned the heads of music nerds all over the world. The windmill scene that this band originated from had been consitently producing artits at the cutting edge of modern rock and this album was no different- it was an jazz-rock and post-rock that managed to draw from and combine inpsparations from some of the genres most important bands- such as Frank Zappa and Swans all while their own unique sound. And while exitement was high for this album, everyone seemed to somehow know that something much greater was on the horizon, and those very expectations where being met as the teaser tracks for this album where dropped. BC,NR seemed on track to release an incredibly important- and profitable- album on the horizon. Hell, even I bought concert tickets to see them before the album even dropped. However, despite all this hype, the bands front man and singer Isaac Wood announced that he would be leaving the group in a heartbreaking tweet where he announced he was taking a mental health break. This context was immedietly clear upon the albums release, it was a concept album about the pain, pressures and expectations of adulthood, it depicts handlind these struggles through a toxic codependency, and ultimately attempting to escaping these struggles by imagining a glorified version of your childhood. It simply is an amazing album and the consensus was that Black Country, New Road's newest album is one of the fiew albums that upon release was almost universily acclaimed as a classic upon release. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did :)
I think that this album is one that's greatly enhanced by the context of it's release, and so are many many more albums. I want to bring this to your attention because I think it's the most important and the best aspect of living in the moment, of listening and paying attention to music as it comes out- because doing so allows us to experience these stories in real time. I remember reading the story of the release of Pink Floyd's Wish You Where Here, and the next time I listened to it I sobbed like a baby! To all my born in the wrong generation peers these things matter, and even if they aren't world altering I hope you now at least understant that cool stuff is still being released!!
If this was your vibe I'd reccomend checking out their first album. Besides that this album is filled with beatiful crecendos and song writing- if that's your thing I'd reccomend checking out some post-rock classics from bands such as Swans' Soundtracks for the Blind and God Speed You! Black Emperor's Lift Your Skinny Little Fists Like Antennas to Heaven. Happy Listening :)