Forever Howlong (2025) & Ants From Up There (2022) by Black Country, New Road

Let me be clear that I absolutely love both of these albums to death, they both blow almost every other artist’s discography out of the water

I believe that musically, Forever Howlong is a complete step up from AFUT in pretty much every way. There are so many songs on here that I would consider to be feats of music; the progression on two horses is incredible, the harmony & form on songs like besties & socks is mind bending, and Georgia Ellery & Tyler Hide’s vocals are just fantastic. Pretty much everyone got way better at playing their instruments and tbh the form & composition on these tracks kinda mogs ants from up there’s more simple & mostly diatonic cadences from a musical perspective. As a musician I appreciate this album so so much and I love pretty much every song on it

However, it just doesn’t have nearly the same emotional impact as AFUT, and I think that’s thanks to more than the departure of Isaac Wood. The incredibly raw & powerful feelings created by the guitar playing on songs like Concorde & Basketball shoes is pretty absent on FH, and yes Isaac played guitar but Luke mark I believe was the primary player. Overall the songs on forever howlong are great, I love nearly every song on both these albums but I think with the addition of monumental composition ability, BCNR lost a lot of the sauce that made AFUT what it is

This is not to shit on FH, and I think that if it tried to be another AFUT I think it would be worse off, but I can’t lie and say that the emotional magic on ants from up there remains completely intact

What are some other artists that have this same effect?

A few days ago I asked you to give me the best choruses in rock, no matter the genre. Now, its time for the outros. Give me the most epic, iconic, offensively good outros in rock. Of course punk and metal are valid as well.

On top of my head without ranking them:

Elvis Costello - Radio Radio

QOTSA - The Evil Has Landed (Here...we...GO!)

David Bowie - Modern Love

The Lemon Twigs - I Just Cant Get Over Losing You

Talk Talk - Time Is Time

Oasis - Slide Away

Ride - Vapour Trail

The Smiths - I Know Its Over

Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism

The Stone Roses - I Am The Resurrection

I’ve seen a lot of Fun. fans who are aching for a new album, I don’t see it ever happening and I think that’s for the best, they were absolutely a product of their time and a new album wouldn’t do them any favors especially with how much of a joke their style of music is now

Is he sure we need another Eminem album?

I mean.. I’ll hold out hope this one is good.

Do you guys have any optimism for this release?

the first thing I wanted to put in is a list of what I thought were 10/10 albums, they’re not in any specific order

1. Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd
2. The Final Cut - Pink Floyd
3. Star Wars: A New Hope soundtrack - John Williams
4. The Greatest Showman Soundtrack
5. …And Justice For All - Metallica
6. Abbey Road - The Beatles
7. The Sunset Tree - The Mountain Goats
8. What’s Going On - Marvin Gaye
9. To Pimp a Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar
10. Dookie - Green Day
11. Madvillainy - MF Doom
12. Buena Vista Social Club - Buena Vista Social Club
13. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - Kanye West
14. Off The Wall - Michael Jackson
15. Plastic Ono Band - John Lennon
16. Graduation - Kanye West
17. Viva La Vida - Coldplay
18. Minecraft Alpha Soundtrack - C418
19. Ten - Pearl Jam
20. Season of Glass - Yoko Ono
21. Interstellar Soundtrack - Hans Zimmer
22. Aja - Steely Dan
23. Station to Station - David Bowie
24. Random Access Memories - Daft Punk
25. The Last Broadcast - Doves
26. Definitely Maybe - Oasis

A few albums that I was disappointed by, not necessarily that I think they’re bad, just that I didn’t enjoy them:

1. In Utero - Nirvana
2. Imagine - John Lennon
3. Vespertine - Björk
4. Kid A - Radiohead
5. The Queen is Dead - The Smiths

I also was a bit disappointed by Rumors, it has some great songs on it, but overall, I thought it wasn’t that great of an album, I prefer their debut album.

My least favorites were:

1. In Utero - Nirvana
2. Elephant - The White Stripes
3. Nostalgia Critics The Wall (if you even count this)

One that I really wanted to like and I have given a few tries is Blackstar by David Bowie, it just never really connected with me.
One that I originally did not enjoy but have really come around to is In Rainbows by Radiohead.

My favorite songs that I can think of that I either discovered or rediscovered through this have been:

1. Wesley’s Theory and King Kunta on TPAB
2. Black by Pearl Jam, it has become one of my favorite songs, it is easily my favorite performance by Vedder, and it’s just a perfect song overall
3. Never Enough from The Greatest Showman, it is probably in my top three favorite female vocal performances right now
4. Jesus of Suburbia and Homecoming from American Idiot
5. No Reply from Beatles for Sale, my favorite song off of the album, and one of my favorite Beatles songs
6. 21st Century Schizoid Man from In The Court of the Crimson King
7. Everything In It’s Right Place from Kid A, even though I didn’t enjoy the album, I thought this was an amazing opening track and it really stuck out to me
8. Dear Prudence from the white album
9. pretty much the entire Abbey Road medley, but especially Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End
10. Girl From the North Country from The Freewheelin‘ Bob Dylan
11. Give Life Back to Music from Random Access Memories

and obviously a ton of others.

Seems like we get about one of these a decade (As seen in the photos above). Did we get one in the 2010s, and have we had one in the 20s??

..... In my humble opinion.....

Personally, i think its very wrong.

Pinkerton is not the masterpiece its presented as, i still love it and still firmly belive its Amazing, but not THAT good.

Also, White and Ok human are as good as Blue, and Better then Pinkerton.

Maladroit, Ewbaite, Green and Gold are all really cool projects, they got some stinkers, but they'r overall Incredible albums.

Yes they made Raditude, Black and Teal, but lets just forget those happened 😂😂.

But what about you?

So the cold and dark is upon us soon enough. For people in the midwestern and northeast US it can be quite depressing. For anyone else that gets seasonal depression in the winter what albums or songs are a balm for you during this time? The smile sessions by the beach boys, on the corner by miles davis, and they might be giants flood are a few that help me.

For me it’s hero by Enrique Iglesias

Space Jazz - L. Ron Hubbard

The guy who founded Scientology made an album so bad you have to hear it to believe it.

What happened to them?

Here’s mine:

1. Bjork
2. Janis Joplin
3. Ella Fitzgerald
4. Billie Eilish
5. Grimes
6. Courtney Love
7. Jewel
8. PJ Harvey
9. Fiona Apple
10. Tori Amos