Black Country, New Road - Forever, Howlong Review

A bold new chapter from Black Country, New Road—'Forever, Howlong' trades angular post-rock for chamber-folk elegance, revealing a band reborn through storytelling, subtlety, and sonic curiosity.

Here we have it; Black Country, New Road’s first official album with the current iteration of the band would be deemed as a tall order, for their Mercury Prize nominated first album and critically acclaimed second ensured that anything that followed would have to be equally ambitious, personal, lyrically astute and literary, full of pits and troughs; essentially, a very tall order. Spending 2024 recording with James Ford of Arctic Monkeys fame, and fans tuned into the process via their live performances, an assembly of tracks that channels a new band with a new vision and outlook towards their song making results in the behemoth that is Forever, Howlong.

‘Besties’ depicts a sapphic tale as old as time, as Ellery’s narrator finds herself looking on at her best friend in a romantic, unrequited light. The first single is an introduction to the harpsichord as an instrument in the arsenal of the band which tracks the shift into a more chamber folk sound. It feels a lot brighter than previous efforts, with the help of Ellery’s lyricism that captures so much within one line ‘I’m just a walking TikTok trend but the colour runs out in the end’ encompasses the temporal nature of our affinities towards someone in line with the rapid trend culture cycles that take place on social media. 

‘Two Horses’ adds another new instrument in the banjo, Charlie Wayne swapping the drum stick for strings for part of the track, to which when he returns back to the drums in a tentative quick style before honing in on the hard hitting loud play that is gradually becoming a definitive part of his approach. With the occasional backing vocal from Kershaw and Hyde, their harmonies are a highlight throughout the album. ‘Salem Sisters’ sees Tyler Hyde take vocal responsibilities. With the assistance her of partner Skydaddy, a song centred around being burnt alive at a party in the summer could never sound more endearing. The composition of this track in particular is another reason to get excited about this new sound the band has ushered in. 

The titular track arrives softly, with the band adopting recorders that help add a school choir element to this emotional and slow burning song (elevated, of course) that is part of the appeal of the band. An ensemble effort that has the progressive elements and storytelling knack of a Joanna Newsom track (easy comparison to make, but fair considering vocal the band have been towards their fondness towards her). This pull and tug of pacing, whilst remaining to be a quiet song in its entirely, is something the band have always managed to keep as a hallmark within their previous albums, so it is well that this is a continuing thread on ‘Forever Howlong’.as well as Kershaw’s ability to make a powerfully contained track matching with the tone of the album.

It is an entirely new band with a new sound that might isolate fans of their early rockier sounds and previous works. This departure from their earlier album’s sounds is seamless, with ‘Forever Howlong’ being adorned in charm and wonder, narratively compact with the message that storytelling is king.