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CRITIC REVIEWS
100
Thankfully, music isn’t just about fun: it can be about creating remarkable soundworlds of baroque pop fantasias, and this band are outstanding at those.
100
Black Country, New Road’s second album finds the seven-piece ensemble subtly evolving their experimental post-punk in a way that suggests they are starting to take themselves more seriously.
100
Contrary to For The First Time, this new offering is a truer parading of Black Country, New Road's vision: ornate, chamber pop with occasional midwest emo flairs dovetailing into devastating post-rock abysses that invert into domineering mountains of cathartic climaxes.
100
In the most fantastic way, the tracks are a collection of surreal oddities that clatter, jangle and pounce on you without ever sounding out of place.
100
Released exactly a year after their momentous debut, Ant From Up There sees Black Country, New Road grow more concept-conscious within their sound.
100
This future cult classic … packs accessible sounds without sacrificing the band's musical wizardry.
100
A huge leap forward, headfirst into the unknown.
90
Ants From Up There is an incredible album.
90
Post-rock chamber ensemble roar right back with emotionally maximalist opus.
90
Ants from Up There feels like the end result of a band that have gotten fully comfortable creating music with each other, to the degree where it’s unsurprising that they were able to make something this dense less than a year after an already-dense debut.
90
For the First Time definitely wasn't a fluke.
90
Ants From Up There swerves expectations and represents a significant leap forward from their debut.
90
There’s less of a tendency to think that they’ve doffed their cap to the likes of Slint and Shellac on this record, and while I never thought the debut lacked confidence, it feels like this is the record on which they are coming into full bloom.
90
The bold sophomore album from the London experimentalists is a singular work rife with ambitious songwriting and sincere, sharply-observed emotions.
90
More melodic and anthemic than ever, 'Ants From Up There' captures Black Country, New Road at a critically transformative juncture, creative juices well and truly pumping.
88
With the thematic coherence of a semi-conceptual art piece and the comfortable chemistry of a band finally growing into their sound, it's certainly the best album to come from this post-Brexit windmill-wave klezmer-core-whatever scene.
87
Undoubtedly BCNR are studious music nerds, but in writing Ants they’ve pushed past their schooling and have created much more original ideas.
85
Ants From Up There takes the strands of sincerity that recontextualized the snark on their debut, For the First Time, and shines a stronger spotlight on them, softening the edges and bolstering their greater emphasis on matters of the heart with suitably grandiose instrumentation.
85
Black Country, New Road manage to sound even more self-assured on Ants From Up There than on For the First Time.
84
The exceptional second album from the London group plays like a slow burn to a triumphant finale. Softer and more melodic, the band remains just as challenging and delightfully confounding as ever.
80
There’s a warmth that pervades the whole collection.
80
A phenomenal record, and excitingly, not just one for the already converted. ‘Ants From Up There’ will make everyone soar.
80
Black Country, New Road's second album Ants From Up There is a galloping, murmuring and exciting barrage of sounds and ideas
80
Black Country made a strong impression on their debut, but things become much more interesting with Ants from Up There.
80
This time with fewer tongue-in-cheek lyrics about telling someone you love them while watching black midi or performing in “the world’s second-best Slint tribute act”, and instead more soulful tenderness.
80
Unpredictable art-rockers' second takes a thrilling diversion.
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1y
80
The kings and queens of new British-rock take an exhilarating turn for the tuneful.
78
If For the first time documented their beginnings, Ants From Up There is an obvious point of departure.
70
On follow-up Ants from Up There, the pent up aggression that gave For the First Time its jagged shape has been largely smoothed away to reveal more gently curved, but equally peculiar topographies.
60
In a twist, Ants From Up There is neither the stylistic overhaul hinted at by the group themselves, nor the logical next step; perhaps detrimentally, it’s largely more of the same.
This album is beyond tragic. I went in not knowing what I was getting into, and wow this project is sad.
Every note, every space, every vocal is just strained and in pain. The only criticism I have to this project is it's so sad and in despair that I barely know what to do with it. It's so much for every track. I lost focus by the end due to how relentless this thing was.
Every song feels ambitious, well placed, and complete in its own way. It is a gorgeous listen that should not be written ... read more
If "For The First Time" was already fantastic, "Ants From Up There" is even more so. This new adventure is a real music lesson, it concentrates all the humanity in 58 breathtaking minutes.
[normally I never put more than 89 for a new release, because I have to test the album against time, but I had to make an exception for this one]
First of all I would like to give my support to BCNR and to the former leader Isaac Wood who has just left the band recently, I hope that ... read more
Rating #200
I don't know why but I expected to dislike this album. I'm very tolerant towards longer albums but I had a pretty long and tiring day that left me in a bit of an odd mental state where I really just did not want to do anything, but I promised one of my friends I'd get this out of the way today so I could listen to an album he recommended me. So, I just went for it. Let's just say I don't regret that.
I am extremely unfamiliar with this group, so I don't know what I was truly ... read more
Contributions By
Alejandro González, Novell_sx, Cubas, domvic, Toasterqueen12, anztec, ThomYorke2, Tillz, jmw123456, OPENblinds, amalie, okcomputer12127, jxshmccabeBecome a Donor
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Track List
| 1 | Intro 0:54 | 87 |
| 2 | Chaos Space Marine 3:36 | 93 |
| 3 | Concorde 6:03 | 95 |
| 4 | Bread Song 6:21 | 92 |
| 5 | Good Will Hunting 4:57 | 92 |
| 6 | Haldern 5:05 | 92 |
| 7 | Mark’s Theme 2:47 | 88 |
| 8 | The Place Where He Inserted the Blade 7:13 | 97 |
| 9 | Snow Globes 9:13 | 92 |
| 10 | Basketball Shoes 12:37 | 96 |
Total Length: 58 minutes
Year End Lists
| #1 | / | RIOT |
| #2 | / | DIY |
| #3 | / | Beats Per Minute |
| #4 | / | MondoSonoro |
| #4 | / | Record Collector |
| #5 | / | Paste |
| #5 | / | Sputnikmusic |
| #6 | / | Northern Transmissions |
| #6 | / | Rough Trade (UK) |
| #7 | / | No Ripcord |
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By landlalt
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1w
just realising how theatrical this album sounds, but all the members went to guildhall so it makes sense.
Added on: October 12, 2021