Ants From Up There, From Liam
an ambivalent "glaze" on Black Country, New Road's album Ants from Up There
For the first edition of Borrowed Taste, I’m excited to introduce my friend Liam. We met in eighth grade German class and have been great pals ever since—he got me into midwest emo music and was there throughout the horrors of middle and high school.
Liam is from West Des Moines, Iowa and currently studies at Iowa State University in Ames. He loves the insurance industry, is an avid club baseball enthusiast, and has a cat named Parmesan.
Here’s Liam’s take (or as he calls it, his “glaze”) on Ants from Up There, the second studio album by British rock band Black Country, New Road.
The band Black Country, New Road, and more specifically, their album Ants from Up There, is quite different from my normal music taste. An entirely British band with 8-minute songs? I would have passed immediately if someone had tried to put me on to them.
I was scrolling TikTok one day when I saw a video I particularly liked, and checked the comments to see “BCNR Mentioned” multiple times. Naturally, I had to look up what BCNR was (Black Country, New Road, it turns out). I listened to their most popular album, Ants from Up There, over the course of a few days, and it was alright to be honest.
I kept listening to them, because I REALLY liked the intro, song, “Intro,” and ended up listening to the album a few more times. Needless to say, it grew on me.
One of the reasons I like BCNR is the recurring motifs and themes1 found in almost all their songs. I was mildly involved in band throughout my life, up until high school graduation, and I had come to miss these sorts of 12-minute, 3-songs-in-1 kinds of musical pieces. Recognizing and appreciating the orchestral sound and adagios (when the song gets slow for a while, I had to look up the technical term) had me actually listening to the album, not just tossing it on for some noise while I drove.
Most of their songs are supposed to be sad, or uncomfortable, or vulnerable, but I don’t really believe that music can have an impact on my emotions2. I find it very admirable that this British man has such strong feelings, but they are not transferring my way! As a result, I listen to the album anytime. It’s definitely not hype music, but it's great music that I’ll toss on whenever.
I find it very admirable that this British man has such strong feelings, but they are not transferring my way!
Despite the intro song, Intro, being the reason I initially got into BCNR, my new favorite song of theirs is “Basketball Shoes,” a 12-minute piece about… Concord 11’s? Watching a football game? Wet dream about charlixcx? I really have no clue. Except for that last one, that one’s true.
Basketball Shoes is chock-full of recurring melodies, motifs, and lyrics that convince you you know what’s going on, just to flip to a completely different cadence. This unexpectedness is what I love about this song. Incomprehensible lyrics, inconsistent melodies, and debatably poor singing are what makes this song fresh. What I hate the most about modern music is knowing what’s coming next; “Basketball Shoes” always keeps me guessing.
“In my bed sheets now wet
Of Charlie3 I pray to forget
All I've been forms the drone
We sing the rest
Ah, your generous loan to me
Your crippling interest”- Basketball Shoes, Black Country, New Road
I’m not sure who I would recommend BCNR to, mostly because I have never met another BCNR fan in my life. I know they’re very popular in the UK, but that love hasn’t made its way to Ames, Iowa yet4. Just go into it with an open mind, ignore the specific words they’re saying, just focus on the message, and this album is for anyone and everyone.
I’m almost 100% sure that my love for BCNR will fade. Most likely within the next few years. Their most recent album, Forever Howlong, was a slight disappointment for me personally, so I’m not sure where they are headed with their production. Ants from Up There, however, will always elicit joy, or at least nostalgia for me.
I am often told my music taste is bad, which is not entirely false. I do, however, believe that Ants from Up There is one of the best albums I listen to, backed by the 2021 UK Albums Chart5. If you have a spare hour and are bored of your current selection, toss some BCNR on. You might not enjoy it, but you’ll learn something, maybe.
- Liam
Thank you for reading! I have compiled a lot of great reviews and insights and I am really excited to share them with you all. Like, share, comment, and subscribe to follow along—also I can keep convincing people to take time out of their busy days to write for me.
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Okay, he paid attention in English III!
Nonchalant af.
Ames, Iowa is actually very beautiful and chic, in my opinion.
And Anthony Fantano