MUSIC: Review – ‘Live at Bush Hall’ by Black Country, New Rode

BY: ADRIAN PATTERSON

MARCH 13, 2023

Live at Bush Hall is the latest official release of wholly new music from Black Country, New Road. Here the band officially records and releases a bunch of songs that people, including myself, have been listening to as bootlegs from their gigs. These songs are very reactive to the departure of their lead vocalist and guitar player Issac Wood. Here we see the band in a very transitional state, many fans even speculate that this will be the versions of the songs, with no studio recording to follow. I was very interested in watching the bootlegs leading up to this official release. They really gave a different lens into how a band writes music and develops live shows. I also enjoy and appreciate the variation of sounds showcased by the different vocalist and genre fusions.

The show opens with the track “Up Song”. It is a little too upbeat and poppy for my tastes but would serve as a good opening song to a Black Country, New Road album. The band is known for their upbeat openings like “Chaos Space Marine” and “Instrumental”. This song has the catchy line “look at what we did together BC,NR friends forever” which is a nice sentiment to the band’s perseverance but can really wear on you after a couple listens. 

“The Boy” is a folk epic track with 3 parts or chapters as they state at the beginning of each segment. This song would be a lot more interesting if each part was just a little longer. I think some of the charm of the band is lost in these shorter songs. One of my favorite strengths of BCNR is the way that they can develop an idea or even overlap ideas over 6 or 7 minutes. This song is reminiscent of that type of track they are known for but lacks in really strong repeated figures and subtlety. It really just feels like it is rushed and underdeveloped. This song also falls into the trap of crescendo- core where the song relies too much on dynamic swells and stops for emphasis and shaping. I also don’t exactly love the vocal delivery in this track; it feels too lackadaisical. 

“I Wont Always Love You” is a more typical BCNR song with Tyler the bassist’s vocals sounding more reminiscent of Issac than the other new vocalists’s. The instrumental interplay here is of greater quality than the previous tracks with more use of guitar parts that I felt were missing from the first two songs. This song however still falls into the crescendo core trap. But on this song it feels more earned. This song is yet again too short at only about 5 minutes long which in BCNR rules seems like a flash in the pan. Some of their most popular songs among fans are the 7 minute “Sunglasses” and 12 minute “Basketball Shoes”. This song along with many at these shows seem to be trying to expedite the BC,NR formula with strange new chemicals like piano lines and vocally driven sections that just weren’t there on their albums.

“Across The Pond Friend” sees the saxophonist/ flutist Lewis Evans taking lead vocals. I didn’t like his nasally boyish voice at first but it really grew on me with subsequent listens. This song feels even more like the sound I am accustomed to from this band. The lyrics on this track are pretty lacking but nonetheless sound fine. I really like the backing vocals especially now that the other band members are finding their voices within the band. This song is pretty good when it comes to overlapping ideas seamlessly with each other. 

“Laughing Song” is a great showing of what BCNR is known for a moody slog with many moving parts. It opens slowly and builds in every possible way dynamically, harmonically, thematically and sonically. This is one of the first loud sections that feels very earned. The lyrical content is very interesting too. It deals with the speaker asking herself what it says about her when she treats people in certain ways. The line “I let the best person I know walk away, well what does that say?” Is especially effective in conveying this message and is elegantly articulated in the song. I really like the way that the vocals drive the song yet still don’t feel like the most important part. BCNR with Issac always felt that way. 

“Trousers” sees Lewis once again taking vocal responsibilities. I really like this track because of the spaced out guitar and drum interplay. This batch of songs is surprisingly lacking in discernible guitar parts for a rock record. I love the pre chorus on this track the way it builds with the passed back and forth lyrical lines between the male and female voices. The drummer really has his chance to shine on this track with the subtle jazzy drumming he delivers. 

“Turbines” is probably my favorite song on this release with its delicate vocal, violin and piano. An underrated part of many BC,NR songs is the beautiful twinkling piano flourishes courtesy of vocalist pianist Mat Kershaw. This song is mostly led by her and she produces the most airy delicate song on this live recording. When the violin comes in it feels so perfect and when the entire band comes together at the end it feels like the sound of an entire orchestra upon this beautiful composition. The second major melodic line plays genius off of the first one. Then the last arpeggio builds the song to a height unlike any other that sees the entire song’s melodic ideas cranked to eleven in the most eloquent way possible.  

“Dancers” is probably my second favorite song from this batch of recordings; it once again feels more fleshed out and developed. It has Tyler once again taking vocal lead and she does a great job of bringing the same type of intensity Issac did. He has this sense of desperation in his voice that was really interesting and enduring. The choppy syncopated line in the middle of this recording is an all time great riff. The way that it switches articulation and still retains the same feel. The entire song here has lines that bounce off each other extremely well. 

I am not fully sold on the direction the band is going with this batch of recordings. They seem to be shying away from their math rock and post rock roots to write more accessible pop oriented fusions of strange genres. They are also starting to write less enigmatic music which is something that I always loved about them. Their lyrical content and song structures are getting dumbed down quite a bit. I don’t exactly dislike this shift but it is definitely felt. I hope that these new songs prove to be a better entry point for the band. I hope that these compositions are indicative of a transitional period and we will see a return to form on a studio album.