Cavalcade is the second studio album by English band Black Midi.
Geordie Greep (vocals, guitar) Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin (vocals, guitar) and Morgan Simpson were introduced to the prestigious BRIT school of technology and performing arts in London. The trio practiced and experimented diligently with different styles of music together during their school days, building a solid foundation for the future. The trio eventually formed Black Midi (the band itself prefers the spelling ”black midi”) in 2017.
Black Midi, augmented by bassist/vocalist Cameron Picton, released their first studio album Schlagenheim in 2019. The spontaneous and raucous Schlagenheim was built largely on improvisation and typical rock quartet instrumentation.
With their second album, Black Midi, a group of musicians in their early thirties on Cavalcade, take a big step forward. On Cavalcade, the palette is expanded with guests playing piano, trombone, violin, saxophone and more. On the other hand, Black Midi itself has been reduced to a trio, with Kwasniewski-Kelvin taking a sabbatical from band work (although he does have a couple of composition credits on Cavalcade). The members of Black Midi themselves also play a number of additional instruments to their main ones this time, including flute, optigon, accordion and a wide range of keyboards.
On Cavalcade, Black Midi has also largely left improvisation aside and the music on the album is this time carefully composed, although the band retains a certain devil-may-care attitude familiar from Schlagenheim and a general grittiness.
How to describe the musical style of Black Midi? The band’s music draws from so many directions that it is very difficult to define it unambiguously. It is obviously progressive rock, and of the myriad sub-genres of the genre, it is probably the one that most naturally falls into the avant-progressive category, even if it does not clearly contain the modern art music influences usually associated with that genre. In addition to the obvious prog tendencies, Black Midi is clearly influenced by jazz, noise and art rock, among others. The band makes extensive use of irregular time signatures and riffing and the music is quite heavy without becoming metal, especially thanks to the often jazzy drummer Simpson, who stays away from any kind of heavy clichés. Black Midi’s heaviness is more akin to King Crimson’s Red than to Led Zeppelin, not to mention the later heavy rock bands.
The sounds on the album, produced by Black Midi themselves and John ”Spud” Murphy and Marta Salogni, do not aim for maximum separation, but the Cavalcade sound is more like a chaotic sonic wall. At moments, it paints sonic pictures of a black cloud of a million buzzing flies that envelop the listener in a downright eerie, yet fascinating way.
Cavalcade begins with chaotically thundering heavy avant-garde rock that crashes over the listener like a tidal wave. The chaotic and downright manic ”John L” with its stop-start rhythms and avant-garde piano and violently trumpeting saxophones is a perfect introduction to the world of Black Midi. ”John L” makes it clear that these musicians, despite their young age, are worthy of the accolade.
The second track ”Marlene Dietrich” is the calmest track on the album and offers a bit of a rest after the massive roar of ”John L”. The cheeky lounge feel of ”Marlene Dietrich” is reminiscent of Mike Patton and his band Mr. Bungle.
The third song ”Chondromalacia Patella” flirts with math rock with its complex rhythms, but I think its deepest roots lie somewhere in the direction of King Crimson’s 80s trilogy. However, vocalist Geordie Greep’s hazy vocals and the brutally buzzing and screeching saxophones make the whole thing very distinctive. Intense and wonderful music!
The fourth track is called ”Slow”, but despite its name, Black Midi doesn’t really slow down on that track, the atmosphere remains quite upbeat. Simpson’s electrifying drumming kicks the upbeat track along and guitarist Greep strums a repetitive cyclical pattern with his guitar, again somewhat reminiscent of 80s Crimson. Black Midi doesn’t exactly dabble in long solos, but on ”Slows” Greep riffs on a short labyrinthine guitar solo mixed in the middle of Simpson’s massive drum fills. In the midway point, ”Slow” finally slows down, as its name implies, almost to a standstill. Simpson’s bass drum beats like a heartbeat as Greep whispers vocals until the band speeds up again with Kaidi Akinnib’s saxophone entering the stage to solo. Like the guitar solo, the sax solo is interestingly buried in the middle of the music.
The floating and rattling ”Diamond Stuff”, which starts with bouzoki strumming and is here and there coloured by Simpson’s tangy drum fills, again provides some contrast to the otherwise very intense music of the album. Although the beautiful ”Diamond Stuff” picks up the pace towards the end.
”Dethroned” grabs the momentum from ”Diamond Stuff” and takes it to the next level. Simpson’s wild drumming is stunning to hear on a track that turns into a straight up noise towards the end. Simpson is clearly the band’s ”most-valuable player”. A fan of Bill Bruford, Phil Collins and jazz drummers, Simpson always comes up with something surprising for his drumming and usually manages to avoid the obvious in his playing.
The penultimate song, just over two minutes long, ”Hogwash and Balderdash” is a fast, hefty and fun song where the band plays with fast runs and heavy riffs.
Cavalcade effectively ends with ten minutes of almost orchestral ”Ascending Forth” which, as its name suggests, seems to grow and soar to new heights throughout its duration. ”Ascending Forth” could almost have been Black Midi’s own ”Starless” (King Crimson’s melancholic epic on Red), but it would have required a much more skilled vocalist than Greep.
Read also: Review: Black Midi: Hellfire (2022)
The 42-minute Cavalcade has strong song material throughout and, despite its wide-ranging influences, it feels like a natural whole. The album’s main weakness is vocalist Geordie Greep’s woozy vocals, which at best sound more like a drunken Scott Walker. Bassist Picton sings on two of the tracks, but stands out surprisingly little from the mumbling Greep.
It is gratifying that despite all its experimentalism and progressiveness, Cavalcade has been well received even by the mainstream music press and the album has apparently sold quite well (it peaked at number 16 on the US album chart. A couple of years after its release, Cavalcade is also ranked as the ninth best album of 2021 by the popular website Rate Your Music. The young musicians of Black Mid give hope that it will still be possible in the 2020s to break into the mainstream with music that is totally uncompromising.
Best songs: ”John L”, ”Slow”, ”Chondromalacia Patella”, ”Diamond Stuff”
Author: JANNE YLIRUUSI
Tracks
- ”John L” 5:13
- ”Marlene Dietrich” 2:53
- ”Chondromalacia Patella” 4:49
- ”Slow” 5:37
- ”Diamond Stuff” 6:20
- ”Dethroned” 5:02
- ”Hogwash and Balderdash” 2:32
- ”Ascending Forth” 9:53
Black Midi
Geordie Greep: Surfboard Lapsteel (2, 6, 7), Roland Jupiter-8 (2-4, 6, 8), Reverend Descent (1, 3), Fret King Elise (1), piano (1), Minimoog Voyager (1), vocals (1-3, 6-8), Yamaha SA60 (2, 4-8), Epiphone Masterbilt nylon-string guitar (2, 4, 6-8), National Resophonic guitar (2, 4, 8), Danelectro Vincent Bell Bellzouki (2, 5, 6, 7), accordion (2, 7, 8), Washburn Parlor guitar (2, 8), Optigan (2, 5), Fender Mustang (3, 4, 6, 7), Gibson SG (3, 4, 6, 7), Roland Juno-60 (3), grand piano (3), Rhodes (3), Hammond organ (4, 5), Supro Lapsteel (5), Moog Grandmother (7) Cameron Picton: flute (2, 3, 5, 8), Rickenbacker 4003 (1, 3-6, 8), Fender Jazz Bass (2), Marxophone (2, 5), Kay-5970J (2, 8), Elektron Digitone (3), Moog Grandmother (3), tin whistle (3), Kramer 650B (3, 7), double bass(4, 5), Fender Jazzmaster (4), vocals (4, 5), Guild M-120 (5), Arturia Pigments (5), Arturia Buchla Music Easel (5, Pendulate (5), Irish busuki (5), Greek busuki (5), Gibson ES-150D (6), sound effects (7) Morgan Simpson: Ludwig Pro Beat Versatile drums (1), Ludwig Club Date SE drums (2, 5, 8), cabasa (2), table salt rotary (2, 8), güiro (2), wooden agogo (2), Maxwell Funky 405 drums (3, 4, 6, 7), tuned tom drum (3, 7), tambourine (3, 4, 6, 7), rattle (3, 4), rainmaker (3), metal castanets (3), bongo drums (4), tuned kick (4, 7, 8), roto-toms (4, 6, 7), stringed cymbal (5), stringed wok pan (5), congat (5), egg shaker (5), hi-hat (6), china cymbal (6), wooden fish (7), doumbek (7), crash cymbal (7), stacked cymbals (7), jingle shaker (8)
Vierailijat
Kaidi Akinnibi: tenor saxophone (1, 3, 4, 6-8), soprano saxophone (1-5, 7, 8) Seth Evans: grand piano (2-5, 7, 8), electric piano (2, 8), Nord Electro 5D harpsichord (2, 3, 8), organ (8) Jerskin Fendrix: violin (1, 8) Blossom Caldarone: cello (2, 5, 8), vocals (5) Joe Bristow: trombone (3, 4, 8) Rosie Alena: vocals (5)
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