Black Country, New Road have released their new album Forever Howlong. The new LP is the band’s first studio release since 2022’s UK #3 album Ants From Up There, which gave them their second Top 5 UK album in 12 months alongside their Mercury Prize shortlisted debut For The First Time, and follows 2023’s Live At Bush Hall. Now, on studio album three, the band have once again built from the ground up in yet another miraculous musical transformation, earning widespread critical acclaim as well as multiple five-star reviews and cover features.
Back Country, New Road
The long-awaited new record was produced by James Ford (Fontaines D.C., Arctic Monkeys, Depeche Mode, Blur) and sees Black Country, New Road settled into a new shape in which vocal duties – and most of the song writing – is split between Tyler Hyde, Georgia Ellery, and May Kershaw. The album was announced alongside it’s expansive and joyous opener Besties, which was met by rapturous praise from both their incredibly dedicated fans and media alike. The track was recently followed up with Happy Birthday. Inspired by the former single, it is a perfect example of how songs on Forever Howlong are connected in spirit and tone but still feel like very standalone pieces of work. Last week, the band also released For the Cold Country, the first of the singles to feature May Kershaw on lead vocal duties.
As with the songs from their Live At Bush Hall release, Black Country, New Road, who in 2024 sold out dates across the US earlier in the Spring and performed at Coachella, Glastonbury, Primavera, Green Man, and Pitchfork London, have been road testing material from Forever Howlong on stage across the year. Through fan recordings and the band’s own constant reinvention, these songs have largely taken shape in plain sight and with the full support of their international fanbase. Despite moving swiftly on after each record, and never having conventionally toured in support of a studio album, the band’s fervent following has only grown and grown regardless.
In support of the new album, the band have taken to the road again with an intimate run of UK live shows – in which they are performing the album in full to celebrate it’s release. These shows come ahead of the band’s US dates, as well as festival appearances at Pitchfork Music Festival CDMX, Primavera Sound, Paredes De Coura, Lowlands, and End Of The Road, plus a full UK / EU tour in September and October, ending on their biggest headliner yet at London’s O2 Brixton Academy. The dates come on the heels of a run of global listening parties, which saw events take place at 179 locations.
Upcoming UK Live Dates:
APRIL
5th – Rough Trade East (Instore), London
7th – Plaza, Stockport
8th – Queens Hall, Edinburgh
9th – Leeds Project House, Leeds
11th – Town Hall, Birmingham
12th – Engine Rooms, Southampton
13th – Epic Studios, Norwich
15th – Village Underground, London
AUGUST
31st Aug – End of the Road 2025, Dorset
SEPTEMBER
11th – Rock City, Nottingham
12th – Albert Hall, Manchester
13th – Albert Hall, Manchester
15th – Olympia, Dublin
16th – Olympia, Dublin
18th – Barrowland, Glasgow
20th – The Glasshouse, Gateshead
22th – Beacon, Bristol
24th – Corn Exchange, Cambridge
OCTOBER
30th – Brighton Dome, Brighton
31st – O2 Academy Brixton, London
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