BCNR - Nottingham Rock City - 11/09/25
Forever Howlong Album Cover.
Since their notorious shift in style and arrangement, Black Country, New Road have managed to re-establish themselves as the bar-raisers they always have been with this year’s Forever Howlong. Having released the album in April and showing it off at an impressive variety of festival slots over the summer, the band and fans alike have had time to become familiar with it in time for a massive world tour this autumn/winter. With this in mind I, as a big fan myself, was very excited to be attending the very first date of said tour at Rock City in Nottingham.
I immediately knew that the night was off to a great start when I saw Rock City had my favourite beer on tap so I watched the support act’s first song from the bar. Hailing all the way from Spain, Titanic opened the show with an insane repertoire that weaved together elements of latin folk, stadium rock and no wave. ‘Lágrima del sol’ displayed a catchy, pop vocal that was built over a very no-wave-esque cello part and intense distorted guitar that erupted into this powerful pop-rock motif that felt like it came straight out of the 80s. I was very excited when, later in the show, we learned from BC,NR’s drummer Charlie that Titanic had recently released their latest album, HAGEN (which I have since listened to and it’s truly amazing).
Black Country, New Road, Nottingham Rock City. Photo by Josh Sleight
We took advantage of the post-support-bar-rush to progress closer to the stage in time for BC,NR. They walked on to Wings’ ‘Live and Let Die’, igniting the attention of the crowd before opening with ‘Two Horses’, a bold start to their set which, despite its soft beginning, quickly ramped up the energy, instantly reminding everyone why we loved this band so much to begin with. A medley between ‘Salem Sisters’ and ‘The Big Spin’ ensured that the momentum wasn’t lost and kept us on our feet while simultaneously disproving any claim that the band had perhaps lost their edge. ‘For the Cold Country’ displayed brilliant vocal performances from the band's three singers Tyler, Georgia and May, beautifully harmonising with each other. May, who takes the lead in this song, sang with a fantastically airy yet precise tone; a masterful fluttering melody that was even more impressive live than on the record. Next up was the return of ‘Dancers’ from their 2023 live album Live at Bush Hall which was brought back with a more stripped back arrangement with Tyler singing and playing the piano; a new rendition that perfectly represents BC,NR’s constant dynamism and willingness to evolve. The opening harpsichord to fan favourite ‘Besties’ hit with a punch after the intimate ballad that had become of ‘Dancers’, lighting up the room and had practically the entire audience singing along. The band felt so tight and rehearsed, you wouldn’t have believed that this was the first show of the tour. This was the same for their song ‘Nancy Tries to Take the Night’ and its addictively satisfying middle section with the proggy rhythms, that incredible sax riff and the drums that tie it all together. Again, it’s impressive on the studio recording but hearing it live was extremely cool. After a charming cover of Big Star’s ‘The Ballad of El Goodo’ (which singer Tyler claimed to be the best song ever released) was ‘Forever Howlong’, their album’s title track - and my personal favourite. Another outstanding vocal performance from May Kershaw along with the rest of the band who adopted a slightly more diverse instrumental arrangement than the studio recording which is characterised by its numerous recorders; but just as hypnotic nonetheless. The sheer variety of instruments that were played by the band throughout the show was a feat of its own and a comprehensive list of said instruments would probably make up half the word count of this review. The show ended with ‘Happy Birthday’, perhaps the closest they get musically to their ‘old sound’ with its heavier electric guitar parts and Bowie-esque vocals and art-rock right to its core - a powerful, climactic ending to an excellent show.
By the end of the night a few things had become clear to me; firstly, Nottingham Rock City, like myself, has impeccable taste in beer; secondly, I should pay more attention to whatever’s going on in the Spanish music scene; and most importantly, Black Country, New Road have not stopped raising the bar.