Black Country, New Road explores themes of friendship, transformation, and artistic bravery on their striking third album ‘Forever Howlong,’ a richly textured art-rock project that translates their enduring bond into a personal, expansive illustration of connection in all its complexities, comforts, and marvels. In a conversation with Atwood Magazine, the band members share insights on evolving while staying true to themselves, sharing the limelight among three songwriters, and discovering warmth, trust, and freedom in the creative environment they’ve cultivated together.
‘Forever, Howlong’ – Black Country, New Road
Do you want to play forever, how long can I play?
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The album kicks off with a lyric that reads more as an invitation than a mere question - inviting listeners into a friendship, a space, a collective universe.
Forever Howlong is rich with these personal, detailed vignettes: kitchens and classrooms, kites and recorders, close friends and unfamiliar faces on trains, all vividly depicted and unified by the humble yet miraculous collaboration of six individuals passionate about music. The outcome is a luminous record that feels both vibrant and familiar, tender and unusual, featuring small domestic moments and expansive existential reflections, all radiating the warmth of a longstanding connection.
"I want to be living with you, seeing it through," sings Georgia Ellery in the aptly named opening track “Besties,” encapsulating not just a lyric, but a commitment—a small, shining promise to continuously support one another, both in life and through their music. Spacious, warm, and meticulously composed, Forever Howlong serves as an art-rock epic about the delicate, beautiful endeavor of maintaining closeness, no matter how long it lasts.
Released in the spring via Ninja Tune, Forever Howlong is an ambitious, artistic blend of folk, prog, baroque pop, and alt-rock, that could only emerge from the current iteration of Black Country, New Road—a six-member ensemble sharing songwriting and vocal responsibilities between Tyler Hyde, Georgia Ellery, and May Kershaw. The arrangements are carefully crafted yet welcoming, intricately weaving a variety of instruments—including harpsichords, mandolins, recorders, saxophones, banjos, pianos, and lap steel—into a sound that is both expansive and deeply personal: A lush, colorful, and vulnerable album that transforms their adventurous art-rock inclinations into a softly glowing, multifaceted vessel for narratives of care, intimacy, and the intricate nature of humanity.
This marks an unmistakably new chapter for Black Country, New Road—being their first studio album since 2022’s Ants From Up There and the significant changes that ensued (notably, the departure of lead vocalist and guitarist Isaac Wood). However, in conversing with the band, one senses that Forever Howlong is less about reinvention and more about deepening. Georgia Ellery, Lewis Evans, Tyler Hyde, May Kershaw, Luke Mark, and Charlie Wayne have been collaborating in various forms for nearly a decade, and this shared history resonates in the way the songs develop and flow, as well as in the trust required to allow three distinct writers to share the spotlight while still presenting a unified, cohesive sound. Kershaw notes that a recurring theme throughout the album is the human inclination toward connection—our shared desire to be understood, the quest to grasp others while also seeking to be seen, and the intricate, sometimes challenging essence of that intimacy. This thread is palpable from the exuberant joy of "Besties" to the melancholic yearning of “For the Cold Country” and the subtly cinematic expanse of the title track.
If 2023’s Live at Bush Hall functioned as a "friends forever" affirmation—demonstrating that they could endure upheaval and experience a magical resurgence on stage—then Forever Howlong symbolizes this friendship finding its own rhythm: curious, confident, and unhurried. The songs beckon listeners into one intimate world at a time, and before long, you realize you are completely absorbed—standing alongside the band within something vast and encompassing. As drummer Charlie Wayne articulates, what matters most is “the six people in the room doing it,” and you can sense that heartfelt, sentimental trust in every crescendo, groove, and recorder line that unexpectedly blooms into something profoundly beautiful.
From the vibrant energy of “Besties”—a sun-kissed, heartbeat-quickening burst of pure affection, akin to a door flung wide open—to the swirling rhythm of “The Big Spin,” Forever Howlong flourishes through emotional precision. “Mary,” a personal favorite of May Kershaw, unfolds like a living hymn, its choral harmonies rising and interweaving with a tender, quivering force. Next is “Happy Birthday,” which shines with its own entrancing quality, anchored by what Georgia Ellery describes as one of her favorite lyrical moments on the album: “Well a lady introduced to me by my best friend, we connected through
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Black Country, New Road explores themes of friendship, transformation, and artistic bravery in their striking third album ‘Forever Howlong,’ which is a rich, multi-layered art-rock collection that transforms their enduring bond into a personal, wide-ranging depiction of connection in its various forms of comfort, intricacy, and awe. In an interview with Atwood Magazine, the band members share insights on evolving while remaining true to themselves, sharing the spotlight among three songwriters, and discovering warmth, trust, and liberty within the collaborative environment they have cultivated together.