black midi - Calvacade

Frantic, chaotic, mad, exhilarating, genius, brilliant and damned exciting too -  these are just some of the words that I used to describe Schlagenheim,  the debut album from black midi. It was for me at least the most exciting debut album of the past decade, so does Cavalcade live up to its predecessor?  

Opening track John L most certainly does. It’s a great start to the album and sounds like a regular carnival band on acid being conducted by a mad professor that has had a few too many! It is blisteringly crazy! Welcome to the mad house that is wholly owned and run by black midi.

Chondromalacia Patella is just stark raving bonkers, edgy and fast paced as is Hogwash and Balderdash.They are both wow moments! Geordie Greep’s vocals on Marlene Dietrich and Ascending Forth are quite beautiful and remind me ofthe amazing voice of Anohni (Antony and the Johnsons). It’s an absolute delight. Morgan Simpson, the powerhouse drummer advises: “The emphasis when we were making and sequencing Cavalcade was to make music that was as dramatic and as exciting as possible. The flow has the feel of a story, which is rewarding to listen to.”

If you have not listened to black midi before, but fancy listening to something new and refreshing, I advise you to check them out. A daring cocktail of bands spring to mind, but if you are looking for comparisons? I can hear ripples of Sparks, Talking Heads, Public Service Broadcasting, Soft Machine and Antony and the Johnsons. It is literally off the scale and at times it feels like they are making it up as they go along, it’s just like listening to a live demo set, such is the improvisation.

black midi play it their own way, with no rules, no fear and certainly no lack of confidence, it’s both brave and daring. Cavalcade is just off the cliff, but it is clearly them just being them. There really is no other band quite like them at the moment, there are no boundaries and they dare go where no one else dare tread at this time. It’s packed with quite amazing content right the way through from start to finish, there appears to be no let up from these young guns and long may that continue.

They are quick to bat away any suggestion that it’s a risky strategy drawing from such a wide source of influences and that the resultant eclectic mix of influences could produce something resembling a mad man’s breakfast. Well for me that’s just what is and it’s very tasty.