Ants From Up There

Pitchfork 8.4/10 The exceptional second album from the London group plays like a slow burn to a triumphant finale. Softer and more melodic, the band remains just as challenging and delightfully confounding as ever.

The Needle Drop 9/10 For the First Time definitely wasn't a fluke.

NME 5/5 This future cult classic … packs accessible sounds without sacrificing the band's musical wizardry.

The Line of Best Fit 10/10 Contrary to For The First Time, this new offering is a truer parading of Black Country, New Road's vision: ornate, chamber pop with occasional midwest emo flairs dovetailing into devastating post-rock abysses that invert into domineering mountains of cathartic climaxes.

Dork 4/5 A phenomenal record, and excitingly, not just one for the already converted. ‘Ants From Up There’ will make everyone soar.

DIY 4/5 There’s a warmth that pervades the whole collection.

The Independent 5/5 A huge leap forward, headfirst into the unknown.

All Music 4/5 Black Country made a strong impression on their debut, but things become much more interesting with Ants from Up There.

The Skinny 4/5 Black Country, New Road's second album Ants From Up There is a galloping, murmuring and exciting barrage of sounds and ideas

Gigwise 10/10 In the most fantastic way, the tracks are a collection of surreal oddities that clatter, jangle and pounce on you without ever sounding out of place.

Under The Radar 8.5/10 Ants From Up There takes the strands of sincerity that recontextualized the snark on their debut, For the First Time, and shines a stronger spotlight on them, softening the edges and bolstering their greater emphasis on matters of the heart with suitably grandiose instrumentation.

Clash 9/10 More melodic and anthemic than ever, 'Ants From Up There' captures Black Country, New Road at a critically transformative juncture, creative juices well and truly pumping.

Mojo 4/5 The kings and queens of new British-rock take an exhilarating turn for the tuneful.

The Observer 5/5 Thankfully, music isn’t just about fun: it can be about creating remarkable soundworlds of baroque pop fantasias, and this band are outstanding at those.

Loud and Quiet 6/10 In a twist, Ants From Up There is neither the stylistic overhaul hinted at by the group themselves, nor the logical next step; perhaps detrimentally, it’s largely more of the same.

Pop Matters 9/10 The bold sophomore album from the London experimentalists is a singular work rife with ambitious songwriting and sincere, sharply-observed emotions.

Spectrum Culture 90% Ants from Up There feels like the end result of a band that have gotten fully comfortable creating music with each other, to the degree where it’s unsurprising that they were able to make something this dense less than a year after an already-dense debut.

Beats Per Minute 87% Undoubtedly BCNR are studious music nerds, but in writing Ants they’ve pushed past their schooling and have created much more original ideas.

Uncut 9/10 Post-rock chamber ensemble roar right back with emotionally maximalist opus.