LogFAQs > #976246139

39. Black Country, New Road - Ants from Up There
Art Rock, Post-Rock, Chamber Pop, Indie Rock
2022
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/9/2/AAeDEnAAE3Wc.jpg

@FoolFantastic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIJjiW_aAFQ

1. Marks Theme
2. The Place Where He Inserted The Blade
3. Chaos Space Marine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63N7GiaVCSs

(Note: like all writeups, my review of Ants from Up There was written stream-of-consciously, as I listened for the first time. This one is particularly interesting because I slowly come to the realization of why I dont like the album much, after circling around it a few times. I hope you enjoy these glimpses into my thought process, or at least that you arent repulsed by them LOL)

The first song, Chaos Space Marine, opens with a combo of fiddle and sax(!). How intriguing. I like this vocalist; I get the sense hes hiding his true power and hell unleash a mighty belt any time soon. (But maybe not?) The chorus goes big I dont know if baroque is the appropriate term, but there are certainly a lot of instruments at once and none of them feel out of place. This feels like sophisticated rock. I think my tax bracket went up from listening to it. Seriously theres a lot packed into Chaos Space Marine that the band. Theres even a bit of mixed meter throughout. Very cool.

Concorde is pretty chill. I anticipated a much faster tempo but this is pretty slow-paced, but not in a bad way. Its nice, but it doesnt quite grab me. I dont need a big rock anthem but this one kind of puts me to sleep.

Maybe Im listening to this on the wrong day. I am very groggy today. So songs like Bread Song, a more acoustic, lyrics-heavy track, arent landing for me. This album got a ton of acclaim last year but Im just not into it so far. Literally none of these lyrics, like legit none of them, have sunk in. I warned everyone! Like looking into the album theres a recurring theme of a retired airplane representing love and loss that Im sure would come through nicely in the lyrics, but again, here we are.

I keep coming back to the blend of other instruments. Piano, strings, fiddle, drums, sax. It all works really well together. Vocalist Isaac Wood actually doesnt engage in belting like I thought he would; instead he keeps it understated. This is like, reading at a caf music. Its easy to zone out and get lost in. I think, now that I can grasp that, the album clicks a bit more. A track like Marks Theme, which opens with a plaintive sax solo, stands out for its starkness and emotion. (Im sure its not a coincidence that its an instrumental!)

Ooh and I like The Place Where He Inserted The Blade too. Less so because of the singing though. Maybe I dont actually like Wood as a singer that much? Maybe if you swapped him out for someone else Id feel differently? Snow Globes is a similar situation: he shows up and I lose focus immediately. Its bizarre.

Overall Ants from Up There would probably climb at least 15 to 20 places without Isaac Wood. Im sure hes a nice guy and probably a talented songwriter (as if I could tell) but I just dont think I gel with his singing at all, and as a result I stop paying attention any time hes on the mic. This is almost certainly why the instrumental Marks Theme is my favorite from the album. I heard Wood left the band; Id be curious to hear some of these songs with a different singer.