Some two years ago I struggled mightily to describe just what the fuck I was hearing on the first black midi album. Oddly, the group's somehow managed to harness their considerable energies, and make a record that's better. And just as perplexing. Cavalcade, out today on Rough Trade, is clearly this week's most impressive release.
While "John L" is all skittering rhythmic bits and noise, "Marlene Dietrich" is light years removed. It sounds a bit like Scott Walker, but there's an undercurrent here that's nearly prog in sensibility. Still, black midi are never going to get as boring as that genre can sometimes be. Elsewhere, "Slow" marries jazz flavors with math rock structure, making the cut the sort of thing that takes a listener back to the late Nineties, when indie sometimes favored risks like this, while "Diamond Stuff" reminds me of early Mogwai mixed with Codeine.
Cavalcade is most successful in revealing how these musicians have refined their sound over the last few years. It's not just that they seem more intent on illuminating a listener's mind now more than confusing it, but that some of this is unapologetically lovely. Sure, "Ascending Forth", the epic closer, veers into both free jazz and noise rock territories, but the rest of the album seems somehow more coherent, more evenly paced. The descents into chaos are here, sure, but they serve a purpose, and bookend moments where it feels like we're hearing The Walker Brothers gigging with King Crimson ("Dethroned"). For the very act of attempting such a thing, black midi deserve a lot of attention and praise. Luckily Cavalcade delivers on what was promised two years ago on their first album. This is the one that will make you love this band.
Cavalcade is out today via Rough Trade.
More details on black midi via the band's Facebook page.
[Photo: YIS KID]