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Richard Foster
, February 1st, 2021 08:57
After the Quietus ran a lengthy interview with BC,NR lyricist Isaac Wood last winter, now Richard Foster talks at length to Lewis Evans, Tyler Hyde, Georgia Ellery and Luke Mark about what really makes the band tick
Black Country, New Road by El Hardwick
Lewis Evans, saxophonist, points the laptop camera at a large pile of wooden planks he has collected at the end of what I presume to be the Black Country, garden. The pile was the neighbour’s old fence, ready to be replaced with a new one with concrete foundations and slats that will let the ivy creep through without much obstruction or spoiling. According to bassist Tyler Hyde, Lewis has become a “DIY God” in lockdown, having also sanded an oakwood floor with a hand sander, a messy job as anyone who has done similar will know. Luckily the boards weren’t painted. It’s the small mercies that matter. Which is how Black Country, New Road are viewing life at the moment.
Credit: Maxwell Grainger
If the love letter has not been entirely cast aside in the 21st Century, it is at least an art form that appears to be dying on the vine. For legendary electronic and experimental record label Ninja Tune (Young Fathers, Bonobo, Bicep), however, it seems the charms of a seven-piece band with two singles was enough to bring out the sweet nothings.
âIt was super emotional,â Tyler Hyde recalls of the missive sent to Black Country, New Road, the bassist tells
NME via Zoom from her parentsâ house in Essex. âNo one else who was offering us a deal was expressing feelings in this kind of way. They didnât need to go out of their way to do that, and they did.â