Page 461 - Guildhall Coverage Book 2020-21

and the media to exaggerate. In a year or two everything will be different. These are

all very temporary phenomena and we know how to assess them," said the singer,
who shares the apartment with guitarist Luke Mark.

Three women and four men play guitar, bass, drums, saxophone, violin and
keyboard here. In terms of look, less rock and roll monsters than chess group. A kind
of pop ensemble with jazz influences. Wood also sees it this way: "This blood is
already flowing through our veins, that's right. We also function like an ensemble in
the rehearsal room."

Classy schools and a major driving force

The fact that parts of the band have been making music together since school days
helps, as does the fact that some of the musicians studied at London's famous
Guildhall School of Music & Drama. "For the first time" you can hear this blind
trust. The six songs have something of a continuous conversation, an exchange
between like-minded people, even if not creatively equals. Because singer and
songwriter Isaac Wood is clearly the main driver.

A typical "Black Country, New Road" song crosses several states of
aggregation. The piece "Athens, France", for example, starts with an ominous mood
and associative-free text, drifts into thoughtful pop sounds a la Tindersticks after
about three minutes, before ending in the finale with sustained brass.