Album: Schlagenheim by black midi (2019)
Format: Album

Related Artists: Black Country, New Road, Squid, Slint, Geese

Music Scene: Emerged in the contemporary era.

Tags: 2010s, Album


As emphatically as it shatters your pre-conceptions about what four BRIT School graduates should sound like, black midi’s astonishing debut dismantles any hoary old notions of genre boundaries, song structure and what’s possible for a basic guitars-and-rhythm-section set-up. From the scratchy, frantic start (“953”) this is an album that invites whiplash with its frequent sharp turns. It’s a dizzying, freeform tapestry of sounds and ideas, driven by Morgan Simpson’s heroically fluid drumming and topped by Geordie Greep’s inscrutable, affected croon. At the album’s midpoint, after the Londoners’ have bent jazz, math-rock, punk and psychedelia to their singular will, calm descends with a gentle, bucolic strum on “Western”. It lasts less than two minutes before a skronk of noise arrives like thunder cracking through a peaceful summer’s afternoon. Even after repeated listens, nothing here is predictable or expected. And that’s what makes <i>Schlagenheim</i> so exhilarating.

Album: Hellfire by black midi (2022)
Format: Album

Related Artists: Black Country, New Road, Squid, Slint, Geese

Music Scene: Emerged in the contemporary era.

Tags: 2020s, Album


The most jarring part about listening to the London band black midi isn’t how much musical ground they cover—post-punk, progressive rock, breakneck jazz, cabaret—but the fact that they cover it all at once. A quasi-concept album that seems to have something to do with war (“Welcome to Hell”, “27 Questions”), or at least the violence men do more generally (“Sugar/Tzu”, “Dangerous Liaisons”), <i>Hellfire</i> isn’t an easy listen. But it’s funny (main character: Tristan Bongo), beautiful, at least in a garish, misanthropic way (the Neil Diamond bombast of “The Defence”), and so obviously playful in its intelligence that you just want to let it run over you. The first listen feels like being yelled at in a language you don’t understand. By the third, you’ll be yelling with them.

Cavalcade" presents a kaleidoscopic array of sound, characterized by intricate instrumentation and dynamic shifts in tempo. The album oscillates between frenetic energy and contemplative moments, creating a rich tapestry of textures that engage the listener throughout its runtime. Tracks like "John L" and "Marlene Dietrich" showcase jagged rhythms and layered arrangements, while "Slow" introduces a more subdued, atmospheric quality. The production is polished yet retains an organic feel, allowing the rawness of the performance to shine through. This juxtaposition of chaos and clarity, alongside the inventive use of dissonance and melody, makes "Cavalcade" a distinctive entry in the alternative genre, pushing sonic boundaries with each track.

Album: Cavalcade by black midi (2021)
Format: Album

Related Artists: Black Country, New Road, Squid, Slint, Geese

Music Scene: Emerged in the contemporary era.

Tags: 2020s, Album


black midi

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