Experimental indie rock group Black Country, New Road have released “Besties”, the first single off their upcoming record Forever Howlong, which will come out April 4 via Ninja Tune.
The band also announced that they would be embarking on a tour, beginning with a brief US tour in May and then travelling to cities across the UK and Europe in September. Watch the music video of the new track below:
Black Country, New Road officially announced the release of "Besties" on January 23, posting a teaser trailer of the track to their social media. This comes after a series of cryptic YouTube videos and song snippets posted across their many platforms beginning on December 24, 2024.
Known for their egalitarian approach to songwriting and composition, as well as the purposeful lack of a frontperson, Black Country, New Road’s latest single brings in a new voice on the mic yet again. “Besties” is the first track in the band’s discography to feature violinist/mandolin player Georgia Ellery as the main vocalist, with other members joining in for backup.
While a member of the group since its beginning, Ellery’s vocal contributions were previously only heard in Jockstrap, her collaborative electronic/art pop side project with DJ/producer Taylor Skye.
Ellery, as well as bassist Tyler Hyde and keyboardist May Kershaw, take the lead as the three main vocalists for the new record. Forever Howlong aims to focus on the themes of friendship through the female lens, with many tracks inspired by each other and oftentimes reflecting on the same concept through the perspective of a different writer. The new single is the introductory track of the upcoming album.
Keeping their spirit of tight-knight friendship and collaboration, all six members have writing credits for every song. (The other members of Black Country, New Road are multi-instrumentalists Luke Mark, Lewis Evans, and Charlie Wayne.) James Ford—who has previous collaborations with Fontaines DC, Arctic Monkeys, and Blur, to name a few—is credited as producer.
This is also the first time Black Country, New Road released a studio recording of their music since 2022’s Ants From Up There. Their 2023 record Live At Bush Hall was a live recording of a collection of songs they wrote together to perform on tours after their former lyricist and vocalist Isaac Wood amicably left. Forever Howlong finds the six members back in the studio for a more conventional album rollout, yet also a new approach to record-making. With the women taking the lead on the vocals and songwriting, they "created a real through line for the album," according to Ellery. "It's definitely very different to Ants From Up There, because of the female perspective—and the music we've made also compliments that."
The band began performing songs from Forever Howlong live as a part of their 2024 tour, workshopping them at exclusive performances solely dedicated to playing new music.
Forever Howlong is out April 4. Full tracklist below:
- Besties
- The Big Spin
- Socks
- Salem Sisters
- Two Horses
- Mary
- Happy Birthday
- For the Cold Country
- Nancy Tries to Take the Night
- Forever Howlong
- Goodbye (Don’t Tell Me)
Black Country, New Road will be travelling to select cities in the US this May, and they're set to perform at Salt Lake City's Kilby Block Party festival on May 17. They will be supporting St. Vincent at her Denver, CO concert, and their shows will feature guest appearances by Friko, Nora Brown, and Stephanie Coleman.
The band will then travel to Europe for the summer festival season, making appearances at Primavera Sound, Paredes de Coura, Lowlands, and End of the Road. They will then begin their UK and Europe tour in September and October, ending with their largest concert yet at London's Brixton Academy.
The dates for Black Country, New Road's 2025 tour can be seen below:
05/13 Chicago, IL @ Salt Shed*+
05/14 Omaha, NE @ Slowdown*+
05/16 Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom (supporting St. Vincent)
05/17 Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Block Party
05/19 Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory+
05/20 Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern+
05/22 San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield+
05/23 Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater+
05/24 Seattle, WA @ Moore Theater+
06/07 Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound
08/15 Paredes De Coura, PT @ Paredes De Coura
08/17 Biddinghuizen, NL @ Lowlands Festival
08/28 Dorset, UK @ End Of The Road
09/11 Nottingham, UK @ Rock City
09/12 Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall
09/15 Dublin, IRE @ Olympia
09/18 Glasgow, UK @ Barrowlands
09/20 Gateshead, UK @ The Glasshouse
09/22 Bristol, UK @ Beacon
09/24 Cambridge, UK @ The Corn Exchange
10/09 Paris, FR @ Casino De Paris
10/10 Nantes, FR @ Stereolux
10/12 Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
10/14 Cologne, DE @ Gloria
10/15 Berlin, DE @ Astra
10/17 Copenhagen, DK @ Vega
10/18 Stockholm, SWE @ Fallan
10/19 Oslo, NO @ Sentrum Scene
10/21 Hamburg, DE @ Mojo
10/22 Prague, CZ @ Roxy
10/23 Lausanne, CH @ Les Docks
10/25 Milan, IT @ Magazzini Generali
10/26 Lyon, FR @ Epicerie Moderne
10/28 Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique
10/30 Brighton, UK @ Brighton Dome
10/31 London, UK @ Brixton Academy
*Special guest: Friko
+Special guest: Nora Brown and Stephanie Coleman
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