After a mysterious teaser on their website, experimental rock outfit Black Midi have returned with LP news after a near two-year studio album break. The album ‘Cavalcade’ arrives 28th May on Rough Trade Records, with the artwork and eight song track list already revealed. Rough Trade describes the album as “a dynamic, hellacious, and inventive follow-up to 2019’s widely praised Schlagenheim. It scales beautiful new heights, pulling widely from a plethora of genres and influences, reaching ever upwards from an already lofty base of early achievements.”
A 2-track single has also been released to streaming. The Marta Solgani produced lead single and album intro ‘John L’ is accompanied by a nightmarishly choreographed video, directed by Nina McNeely, whose previous works include the likes of Miguel’s ‘Funeral’ video and Rihanna’s ‘Sledgehammer’. This is the bands second music video, accompanying the ‘Schlangenheim’ outro ‘Ducter’ from 2019.
With the absence of pivotal guitarist/vocalist Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin, the band currently comprises of three members, stating that they “chose to augment their sound on Cavalcade, rather than replicate it”. This was achieved by bringing in saxophonist Kaidi Akinnibi and keyboard player Seth Evans. Most of the LP was recorded in 2020 in the Dublin mountains at the fitting Hellfire Studios, who specialize in various metal sub-genres.
Cavalcade arrives with an array of physical formats too, with picture disc, CD and cassette available for pre-order on Rough Trade in line with the release date. Along with that selection, the shop also features a black LP with limited edition exclusive coloured flexi-disc including a cover song performed by the band of the listeners choice. Fans can vote on the Google form here, with options including the likes of JME, Captain Beefheart and Elton John. All physical orders before the end of this month include pre-sale access to a Black Midi headline show on 11th November at the historic Alexandra Palace Theatre in London.
Watch the video for John L on YouTube.
