Black Country, New Road Announce Long-Awaited Third Album, Forever Howlong
The English sextet's third LP arrives April 4 via Ninja Tune. Listen to "Besties" below.
This morning, Black Country, New Road (BCNR) have announced their third studio album, Forever Howlong. The record is set to arrive April 4 via Ninja Tune. It’s been nearly three years since the band released Ants From Up There, an album so good it clocked in at #5 on our best albums of 2022 list and, in the years since, has appeared on our best albums of the decade so far (#69), too, and one of its tracks, “The Place Where He Inserted the Blade,” was named the 47th-best song of the 2020s so far, too.
Forever Howlong is BCNR’s first release since Live at Bush Hall in 2023, a live album that showcased the band’s current lineup: May Kershaw, Tyler Hyde, Lewis Evans, Charlie Wayne, Luke Mark and Georgia Ellery. The release of Ants From Up There was followed by the departure of then-lead vocalist Isaac Wood, but Forever Howlong is the first studio presentation of the remaining six members. And, given how good lead single “Besties” is, BCNR hasn’t lost a step. Ellery steps into the lead vocalist role flawlessly, her voice dappled in warmth by Kershaw’s harpsichord. The strings remind me of the opening to Van Morrison’s “Everyone,” and I especially love this line: “I’m a walking TikTok trend, but the color runs out in the end.”
Listen to “Besties” and check out the Forever Howlong artwork and tracklist below.
