The UK avant-garde outfit are back in full force.
One of the most exciting guitar acts going today, young British experimental rock outfit black midi have announced the impending release of their second album.
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The band, who flipped the music world on its head in 2019 with their debut LP Schlagenheim and managed to find a foe in Ed Sheeran with their diss track ‘ded sheeran (ed sheeran send) part 1’ ,will release Cavalcade on Friday May 28.
They’ve also shared a first taste of the record in the form of lead single ‘John L’; a dizzying, prog-jazz cut featuring explosive drumming and anxious staccato strings to set a stellar tone for the album. ‘John L’ marks the only song on Cavalcade to be produced by Marta Salogni, with all over tracks being produced by the band and John ‘Spud’ Murphy.
The song is also paired with a striking visual directed by Nina McNeely, who’s previously worked alongside Gaspar Noé and Rihanna, which you can watch below.
A press statement from black midi says that the groundwork for Cavalcade was set late in 2019 after they’d wrapped up the tour cycle for Schlagenheim, with half of the record being written by each of the band’s members at home before convening as a group to polish ideas at rehearsals.
Cavalcade also marks the first black midi release to not feature founding member and lead guitarist Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin, who temporarily stepped back from the group due to mental health issues as per a band statement earlier this year.
In his place, black midi have recruited two additional members to perform on the record: keyboardist Seth Evans and saxophonist Kaidi Akinnibi.
Cavalcade, the new album from black midi, arrives via Rough Trade on Friday May 28.
