The buzz surrounding black midi has been building steadily since early 2018, when their performances began to be uploaded to Youtube by various third parties; So Young Magazine, a reliable music publication source based in south London, has been championing the group for roughly a year now as well. Other publications have been scrambling to catch up and provide press for the group, who have been christened as one of, if not the, most exciting new live offering that Britain has up its sleeve. They released their debut album, Schlagenheim, on Friday on the famed Rough Trade Records label. We at The Note have been biding our time, waiting for the perfect moment to get you hip...and the time is now.
Watch black midi’s KEXP performance on Youtube and judge for yourself. The performance has been bouncing around among music aficionado like a beach ball at a Nickelback concert. It’s hit or miss for a lot of people that I’ve spoken to. There are 4 band members and they make a noisy racket, half acute math rock and half freewheeling improvisation; imagine the noisy, unhinged bursts of sound of Swans mixed with David Byrne-esque lyrical imagery on top of a burning pile of Country Teasers punk rock, if that same punk rock had a child with Holger Czukay on acid improvising Fall tunes. It’s one of those things that takes 10 listens to realize that it’s any good. They quite literally don’t play in time with each other. Lead singer Gordie Greep (can’t make that one up) looks like a guy that you’d pay in Warhammer pieces to do your algebra homework. Drummer Morgan Simpson won the award of best drummer in the UK at some sort of prestigious award ceremony; all 4 members of the group attended the famed Brit School in Croydon, an institution that has produced breakthrough pop acts such as Adele and Amy Winehouse, among others.
While much of black midi’s buzz revolves around their unhinged live performance, Schlagenheim itself has a few standout tracks. "953" and "Western" showcase the band’s melodic side. Aside from those two, the whole album is nutty performance art, outbursts of sound, and experimental noise rock.
Overall, black midi have put out a solid debut album, one that should lay the ground for them to become a household name on the summer festival circuit. However, the group takes a fair amount of listening to really get into. Most of the songs on the album are over 6 minutes long, and, naturally, experimental rock can sometimes feel as though the musicians are forcing their virtuosity (which, in the case of black midi, is undeniable) down the listeners throats; a sort of “look at how well I can play!” permeates the album, and it can be burdensome at points. Nonetheless, expect to be hearing more about black midi in the very near future; they’re already the “next big thing”.
Watch black midi’s KEXP performance on Youtube and judge for yourself. The performance has been bouncing around among music aficionado like a beach ball at a Nickelback concert. It’s hit or miss for a lot of people that I’ve spoken to. There are 4 band members and they make a noisy racket, half acute math rock and half freewheeling improvisation; imagine the noisy, unhinged bursts of sound of Swans mixed with David Byrne-esque lyrical imagery on top of a burning pile of Country Teasers punk rock, if that same punk rock had a child with Holger Czukay on acid improvising Fall tunes. It’s one of those things that takes 10 listens to realize that it’s any good. They quite literally don’t play in time with each other. Lead singer Gordie Greep (can’t make that one up) looks like a guy that you’d pay in Warhammer pieces to do your algebra homework. Drummer Morgan Simpson won the award of best drummer in the UK at some sort of prestigious award ceremony; all 4 members of the group attended the famed Brit School in Croydon, an institution that has produced breakthrough pop acts such as Adele and Amy Winehouse, among others.
While much of black midi’s buzz revolves around their unhinged live performance, Schlagenheim itself has a few standout tracks. "953" and "Western" showcase the band’s melodic side. Aside from those two, the whole album is nutty performance art, outbursts of sound, and experimental noise rock.
Overall, black midi have put out a solid debut album, one that should lay the ground for them to become a household name on the summer festival circuit. However, the group takes a fair amount of listening to really get into. Most of the songs on the album are over 6 minutes long, and, naturally, experimental rock can sometimes feel as though the musicians are forcing their virtuosity (which, in the case of black midi, is undeniable) down the listeners throats; a sort of “look at how well I can play!” permeates the album, and it can be burdensome at points. Nonetheless, expect to be hearing more about black midi in the very near future; they’re already the “next big thing”.
