black midi - Hellfire (2022)

[fucking ponderous]

Didn't see a thread for this. I think it's amazing. Liked the first album a lot, the second not so much, this one finally feels like they've come into their own. Sounds a bit like some kids hyped up on sugar locked themselves in a room and listened to the first Roxy Music album and Spiderland on loop for a week then were let loose into a recording studio. Or maybe it sounds like something else. What do you think?

[The Mollusk]

I still haven't listened to Cavalcade. I've not really been in the mood for something that from the outside feels like it'll be quite unrelentingly mental, despite having seen them live twice since it came out and enjoying both performances immensely. Maybe I should draw the curtains and just blast them both out back to back.

Extremely talented little scrotes it has to be said. Hearing kids in their early 20s belting out King Crimson levels of earth shaking jazz prog and nailing it with aplomb at almost every turn is a thrilling thing for the modern music scene.

[Johnny Textface]

I love it. Anyone else getting Mr Bungle vibes?

[Inspector Norse]

the first Roxy Music album and Spiderland

I'm in

Have struggled with this lot - both the debut and Cavalcade had bits and bobs of things that threatened to hook me but none of it ever really seemed to come together in a way that stuck. There's definitely something there though so if the above comparison is accurate then perhaps this is their time.

Just saw they're playing here in a fortnight, how did I miss that? Will have to get onto gig-going friends and see if I can tempt anyone.

[Clownbaby]

I'm obsessed with this album, it's fierce.

Schlagenheim and Hellfire are among  the most brazen, beautifully grotesque fever dreams I've heard. Both 10/10s. Cavalcade is still a very strong 8 for me. To see these lads live? Oh my. One day.

[fucking ponderous]

Yeah, it definitely has a Bungle/Naked City thing going on. But in a way that doesn't feel like it calls attention to itself- it feels coherent, it doesn't feel like "look how many different genres we can do" (which is not to say that's the case with Bungle- more so the case with groups that are inspired by them- eclecticism at the expense of substance)

Apparently Greep is a huge boxing fan and I particularly like how he's incorporated that into the lyrics this time around. It feels personal in a very idiosyncratic way. On the track "Half Time" there's a short fake radio DJ bit by "Radio Rahim", which I at first assumed was a strangely placed Do the Right Thing reference, then looked further into it and found out Rahim is a journalist on a boxing YouTube channel who seems to have recorded a bit specially for this album. I love that.

I also love the sort of flashy showtune influence this album has. It feels very unselfconscious and genuine in its bombast, which is really nice to have as I feel like a lot of current rock feels quite ironic and self-conscious. The last track (at least a part near the end) honestly reminded me of something out of The Meaning of Life. I can imagine Eric Idle as the ancient man Greep describes in the lyrics.

[fucking ponderous]

I saw them around when the first album came out- it didn't make a huge impact on me but that may have just been the venue it was at, a place in Philly that in my experience has had quite bad sound mixing. Anyway they were like 18 then and a member has left and their sound has developed so I'd imagine seeing them now is an entirely different experience.

[Critcho]

I saw them live a couple of weeks back and had a great time. I wasn't familiar with Hellfire at the time, so was mainly swept along by the musicianship and the overall wackiness of it all. But Hellfire itself really holds up as their best yet I think.

With this band I feel like the imagination and chops were obviously there from day one, but the actual songwriting is getting more sophisticated each time.

Shlagenheim isn't really going for conventional 'songs' so works really well for what it is. Cavalcade is going for something a lot more structured and ambitious, but the material isn't always 100% up to it.

This one isn't entirely flawless either (a few parts drag on a bit) but they are smashing it a good proportion of the time. The lyrics get better and better and Sugar/Tsu and Welcome To Hell are rollercoaster rides. The Defense doesn't stand out at first but is one of their most lush 'normal' songs yet.

I really quite love this band! Very much looking forward to whatever they get up to next.