Cavalcade
by Black Midi

From pjohnsongolf TOP 100 COMMENTER 06/02/2021 15:41 | #270281 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Well what I thought was going to be one of my favorite post punk albums of the year turned out to be some of the greatest progressive rock in a long time. (Edited)

From Mercury TOP 100 COMMENTER 06/26/2021 02:22 | #271047 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

(Avant-Prog, Prog rock, Jazz rock, noise rock, ooooh babayyyy! Prog is back! - for a more cogent statement I’ll say that this is the best Prog rock album I’ve heard that’s been released in years. And it’s bloody brilliant almost the whole way through.)

What a rock solid album. Feels like something significant. But maybe that is just the hype and me getting swept up in it. I have been delaying and delaying on writing any sort of comment on this beast. I have listened to it a dozen or more times. And I notice my opinions change with almost every listen. Sometimes I feel like saying hyperbolic things like “This is this generation’s In The Court of the Crimson King”, and sometimes I feel like this is a bit of an uneven and yet vibrant and exciting avant-Prog album for a new generation. I switch between feeling effusive love - and merely feeling strong, healthy respect. Haven’t landed yet on what my final thoughts are. Maybe only time can tell, after we have seen the progression of black midi, that Windmill scene, and underground rock in general over the next 3-10 years time. I don’t know.

I do know that “John L” is my song of the year so far. Something special it is, indeed. I know that “Marlene Dietrich” is gorgeous and features a brilliant subdued groove that I adore. I know that the 1-2 punch of “Chondromalacia Patella” and of course the masterpiece that is “Slow” never fail to blow me away, and sweep me up and away somewhere fresh and new. I’m confident that “Diamond Stuff” is beautiful if a bit too slow in its development and a bit anti-climactic. I know that “Dethroned” is very solid but one that hasn’t yet clicked with me fully. I know that “Hogwash and Balderdash” is excellent and the closest to the sound of “John L” that this album ever comes back to and I know it’s too short. And, finally, I think “Ascending Forth” is… a bit lost on me and for some reason, despite most people considering it a stand out track or even THE standout, I think it’s my least favorite song here. Of course “Ascending Forth” is still like, idk, 70% incredible. That is an indicator of how much I like this album through and through.

I also love that these songs do flow. Like, this feels like a concise yet complete album statement, where each track logically rolls to the next despite at times featuring INSANELY massive changes in tone and style. Not sure how the guys in black midi pulled that off but they did.

I’m closing, I have a feeling this will be one of those memorable albums for years and decades to come. I hope it does become something of a classic as time goes on. For now, it’s too new for all that. But it is for sure amd without a doubt one of the few albums that managed to fully live up to my expectations (hopes more like) and, I think, the music fandom’s as well.

From AvalancheGrips 05/27/2021 22:21 | #270103 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

It's here guys!

I'm gonna be honest. This is very easily AOTY for me and it'll take the will of God for another album to take that title. Every, and I mean EVERY, song is amazing. "John L", "Hogwash", and "Slow" are fucking insane. "Marlene Dietrich", "Diamond Stuff", and "Ascending Forth" are all so beautiful, a true surprise coming from black midi, whose 'prettiest' song before was "Western". "Chondro" is the perfect balance of beautiful and unhinged. And "Dethroned". "Dethroned" is a tough one. The KEXP performance of this song is phenomenal. However, the studio mix is tougher to get behind. I think my major problems are the mixing and the voice effects. The guitar is way too quiet and the vocals overpower everything else, which really differs from the crisp sound of the KEXP recording. That being said, the final section is very good, which redeems it a little for me.

Aside from "Dethroned", I'd say the vocals have improved ten fold from their past recordings. Geordie is genuinely very melodic at many points on this album. This is a complete departure from the spoken, yelping vocals of Schlagenheim. It shows a maturing of their style, even in just two years.

I'm glad black midi went with a new approach to this album. While not entirely experimental like Schlagenheim, black midi moves in a fresh direction and they sound fantastic.

From LebowskiRams TOP 100 COMMENTER 05/26/2021 21:19 | #270078 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

I had high hopes for this record and they were exceeded. Incredible.

From seb7 06/01/2021 17:33 | #270249 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Instant classic. Gritty, but well produced. Not over-produced, but clean. Hard, complex, easily top 500 of all time. I will update in about a month