Black Midi – Cavalcade
(Rough Trade)
Reviewed by Sam Smith.
After emerging on the scene in 2019 with their critically-acclaimed album Schlagenheim, an album this reviewer picked as their album of the year, UK post-punk band Black Midi have returned with their second album Cavalcade.
Many artists over the years have bombed with the aptly named difficult second album, therefore it was intriguing to see what the now three-piece group had up their sleeves, especially after the enormous success of their debut. Had they evolved? Was their sound still there?
Bringing in additional support in the form of saxophonist Kaidi Akinnibi and keyboard player Seth Evans to augment their sound, from the get-go it was clear Cavalcade was not Schlagenheim 2.0.
This was evident straight away in the opening track John L with its distinctly King Crimson esque sound featuring whaling Robert Fripp stylised guitars set to Geordie Greep’s spaghetti western-like spoken word vocals.
Marlene Dietrich is unlike anything on Schlagenheim and sees Greep enter crooner mode with his vocals appearing in front of delicate string-laced instrumentation. A complete curveball of a song if ever there was one and quite unexpected given their past form.
Things then returned to regular proceedings on the bizarrely titled Chondromalacia Patella with its jagged guitar and uneven tempo, the type of what came to make Black Midi so loved on their debut. Drummer Morgan Simpson puts in here another masterclass in rhythmic ability, proving he had lost none of his musical nous since the debut.
Slow saw Akinnibi’s sax playing feature and, in the process, conjured up a strong Bowie Blackstar vibe both in terms of the song’s experimental free-flowing sound and indeed its song structure. Meanwhile, Dethroned represented the album’s high point thanks to more killer sax from Akinnibi and some amazing feedback-driven guitar work from Greep. For sure one of Black Midi’s best songs yet.
The album then climaxed with more crooning from Greep in the form of the downtempo lounge ballad, the nine-minute epic Ascending Forth, a track, unlike anything else in Black Midi’s canon and a song that really sums up the change of musical direction on this album.
Cavalcade is no Schlagenheim. I mean it would be near impossible to beat that record in two years, especially being a member down [guitarist Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin has been taking a break from the group.] But that doesn’t mean it is bad. In fact, far from it.
This record is a solid comeback from Black Midi and in many ways is the perfect companion album to their debut. There is more variety on this record, more light and shade, and all in all a completely different vibe that shows Black Midi are not simply one-trick ponies.
Cavalcade is the album they needed to make to prove there was more to their musical bow than just straight-out post-punk exuberance and intense musicianship. This different approach might not win them any new fans, but it absolutely is another important cog in the Black Midi journey, a journey that has provided nothing but the goods so far.
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