black midi unveil their highly-anticipated follow-up to 2019’s ‘Schlagenheim’ with ‘Cavalcade’
‘Cavalcade’ expands on the magnificent legacy of ‘Schlagenheim’ with the perfect fusion of classic midi and a new, versatile direction for the band
★★★★★
Photo: Bella Howard for The New York Times
The wildly innovative experimental rock band, black midi, released their second album, Cavalcade, on the 26th of May, two days prior to its expected release date.
The BRIT School band formed back in 2017, gaining a small yet dedicated London-based following on account of their frequent gigs. They released their genre-breaking debut album Schlagenheim in 2019, which received well deserved positive critical reception.
With Cavalcade black midi did not disappoint; breaking boundaries the rest of us were yet to even acknowledge, and ultimately expanding on the magnificent legacy of Schlagenheim with a perfect fusion of classic midi and a new, versatile direction for the band. The overall vibe of Cavalcade is best simplified as a psychedelic trip in a jazz cafe — with its experimental weirdness, conceptual points, and journey through highs and lows.
Beginning with John L, we’re off to an immediately crashing start, with frontman Geordie Greep’s signature unconventional vocals feeling homely amongst the ensemble of the thumping drums, highspeed stabbing guitar riffs, and dissonant piercing piano clangs.
The song’s wildly experimental nature is furthered through extended dramatic pauses that are broken with a frenzy of energetic stabbing guitars — the jarring nature of these dramatic pauses can be likened to Yves Tumor’s dramatic silences in Gospel for a New Century, but are longer and arguably a lot more impactful. Towards its end, the song takes a unique turn with a temporary ambience prior to a chaotic crash of an ending, before reaching a triumphant finish with a drum roll. John L is a magnificent first track, taking listeners on a thrilling ride and leaving us with anticipation for what is yet to come.
Hogwash and Balderdash is another of the album’s visceral, abrasive songs. In true black midi fashion, it is weird by nature, with its immediate percussive clinking sounds bearing similarities to the sound of kitchen supplies clashing together.
The song has an interesting tempo; initially starting off fast with distorted vocals, the pace proceeds to slow down at the middle of the song, with light guitars and melodic extended vocals. Before long, however, the tempo is soon to speed back up. The song’s ending is wild and unhinged, with a chaotic glitchy undertone. Hogwash and Balderdash is successful in providing Cavalcade with the much loved and desired classic black midi chaos.
Cavalcade also has more jazz-inspired moments, whose less abrasive nature in no way stops them from being undoubtedly exciting listens. Such tracks consist of Slow, Chondromalacia Patella and Dethroned.
Beginning with pulsating drums, Slow is the perfect juxtaposition between the black midi we know and love and something entirely new. The song zig zags in tempo between slow-paced singular vocals, accompanied only by guitar riffs, to busy soundscapes with fast tempos.
In the slower moments there are soft, almost whispered vocals, which have an angelic feel as they land extended high notes whilst the song progresses — creating a deep, and at points ethereal, immersion. Roughly halfway through the song, there is soft whispering, very light pulsating drums and strumming, clean guitars that gradually progress until the guitars take on a math rocky riff.
The track has an explosive layered ending with a soundscape of instruments in dissonance with one another. Slow defies not only the song’s title but conventional song structure as well, creating an entirely unique and insanely enjoyable listening experience.
Chondromalacia Patella is instantly notable with its immediate scratchy electric guitar riff. The song’s experimental nature comes through when thumping drums are followed immediately by short, overblown saxophone squeaks. The song takes a peaceful tone with slow-paced, calming and soft extended vocals, accompanied by twinkling instrumentation reminiscent of American Football.
The second half showcases heavy, crashing instrumentals — something black midi aren’t ones to shy away from — bearing similarities to the album’s opener, John L. The song’s tempo grows so fast it feels electrical at the end, creating a disorientating speed induced spinning effect — growing in intensity whilst electrical sounds create a glitching feel. The song comes to a unique, unforgettable finish with a cartoon falling sound effect.
black midi takes on a new direction with softer songs such as Marlene Dietrich, Diamond Stuff and Ascending Forth.
Diamond Stuff begins with a strumming guitar and an arguably eerie tone. The song is slow and progressive, gradually building, and encompasses the feeling of anticipation.
Throughout the song there is percussive instrumentation reminiscent of the sound of crystals, reflecting the Diamond in the song’s title. As the track progresses we’re introduced to a peaceful and ethereal feeling rather than the earlier eerie atmosphere, completed with the help of percussive instrumentation by minimal light guitars, layered under silky, soft vocals.
The song finishes with light electronic ambient noises creating a subtle glitchy effect. Overall, Diamond Stuff is a fresh direction for black midi and proves the band’s ability to succeed in any style.
Ascending Forth is the album’s closer, reaching almost ten minutes in length, and is an astounding encore. It has a slow tempo, with melodic light guitars and extended ethereal vocals.
The lyrics are the real limelight in Ascending Forth, however, with what is arguably the strongest emphasis seen in a black midi song yet. The conceptual lyrics tell the story of Mark, a character with a gift who is plagued by internal struggles; Mark is used as an allegory to explore the nature of art and suffering.
The entire song has the feel of an epic fantasy ballad and has elements of prog-rock shown both within individual verses and the overall song. At the end of the song, there is a crescendo of an instrumental soundscape. The song comes to a dramatic ending reminiscent of a musical encore before falling to silence — providing Cavalcade with the jaw-dropping ending that it deserves.
Cavalcade is easily one of the most remarkable albums of the year — from start to finish. It’s a huge improvement from Schlagenheim (despite being an astounding album itself) because of the band’s versatile explorations and further experimentation. Cavalcade’s unapologetic experimentation is easily what makes it such a great experience, and it’s one I recommend everyone gives it a listen to.
