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From top-left to bottom-right: May Kershaw, Tyler Hyde, Lewis Evans, Charlie Wayne, Luke Mark, Georgia Ellery

Jan 30, 2025 By Mark Redfern Photography by Eddie Whelan

England’s Black Country, New Road have announced a new album, Forever Howlong, and released its first single, “Besties.” They have also announced some tour dates. Forever Howlong is due out April 4 via Ninja Tune. Below, check out the single, album details, and tour dates. A video for “Besties” also premiered today and can be watched below.

The band’s lineup is Georgia Ellery (acoustic guitar, mandolin, tenor recorder, violin, vocals), Lewis Evans (alto saxophone, bass clarinet, clarinet, flutes, tenor recorder), Tyler Hyde (acoustic guitar, bass guitar, clarinet, harmonium, piano, tenor recorder, vocals), May Kershaw (accordion, harpsichord, piano, vocals), Luke Mark (acoustic guitar, baritone guitar, electric guitar, lap steel, tenor recorder), and Charlie Wayne (banjo, drums, percussion, tenor recorder, tuned percussion).

When Black Country, New Road’s former frontman, Isaac Wood, announced that he was leaving the band in 2022 only days before the release of their sophomore album, Ants From Up There (also on Ninja Tune), the band vowed to continue on and to not perform any of the material from Ants From Up There without Wood and so they wrote all new songs to perform live. That resulted in the 2023 live album, Live at Bush Hall, and concert film of the same name.

Forever Howlong is thus the band’s first studio album recorded without Wood. Vocal duties, as well as the bulk of the songwriting, is now split between Tyler Hyde, Georgia Ellery, and May Kershaw. “It created a real through line for the album, having three girls singing,” says Ellery in a press release. “It’s definitely very different to Ants From Up There, because of the female perspective—and the music we’ve made also complements that.”

“Besties” is the band’s first studio single to feature lead vocals from Ellery. James Ford (Fontaines D.C., Arctic Monkeys, Depeche Mode, Blur) produced Forever Howlong.

Rianne White directed the “Besties” video and had this to say about it: “‘Besties’ came into my world with a dance of feelings, with such an understood concept of exploring the core emotion of taking on the world, and its obstacles to be with her, the bestie, again.

“Building this with the band took me to so many memories, informed by a collective of experiences from my childhood writing letters and maps to my bestie, into formulating our own map and sliding-doors effect narrative—charged with the instinctual punch and intuition of—I need to be with my bestie now. Working with Georgia, May, and Tyler was a real treat across their performances especially, and quite literally, running from the more conventional lip-sync world, and injecting cameo moments with Charlie, Lewis, and Luke. Knee-high in January’s jacket of mud, darkness, fields, street corners, and a pack of hounds we found the beating heart of a world made better by chasing love and connection. Shooting in these conditions, and having fun is a real testament to a fantastic team and collective of people! It’s been such a pleasure, this song was love at first harpsichord!”

Ants From Up There made it on our Top 100 Albums of 2022 list. Read our rave review of the album here.

Read our interview with Black Country, New Road on Ants From Up There and Wood’s departure here.

Read our interview with them on Live at Bush Hall here.

Forever Howlong Tracklist:

1. Besties
2. The Big Spin
3. Socks
4. Salem Sisters
5. Two Horses
6. Mary
7. Happy Birthday
8. For the Cold Country
9. Nancy Tries to Take the Night
10. Forever Howlong
11. Goodbye (Don’t Tell Me)

Black Country, New Road Tour Dates:

North America:

Sat May 3 — Pitchfork Music Festival CDMX — Mexico City, MX
Tue May 13 – Salt Shed – Chicago, IL, US [+ ~]
Wed May 14 – Slowdown – Omaha, NE, US [+]
Fri May 16 – Mission Ballroom – Denver, CO, US [*]
Sat May 17 – Kilby Block Party – Salt Lake City, UT, US
Mon May 19 – The Observatory – Santa Ana, CA, US [~]
Tue May 20 – The Wiltern – Los Angeles, CA, US [~]
Thu May 22 – The Warfield – San Francisco, CA, US [~]
Fri May 23 – Roseland Theater – Portland, OR, US [~]
Sat May 24 – Moore Theater – Seattle, WA, US [~]

[+] Friko
[*] supporting St. Vincent
[~] Nora Brown with Stephanie Coleman

Europe & UK:

Sat 7 Jun – Primavera Sound – Barcelona, ES
Fri 15 Aug – Paredes De Coura – Paredes De Coura, PT
Sun 17 Aug – Lowlands Festival – Biddinghuizen, NL
Thu 28 – Sun 31 Aug – End Of The Road – Dorset, UK
Thu 11 Sep – Rock City – Nottingham, UK
Fri 12 Sep – Albert Hall – Manchester, UK
Mon 15 Sep – Olympia – Dublin, IRE
Thu 18 Sep – Barrowlands – Glasgow, UK
Sat 20 Sep – The Glasshouse – Gateshead, UK
Mon 22 Sep – Beacon – Bristol, UK
Wed 24 Sep – The Corn Exchange – Cambridge, UK
Thu 9 Oct – Casino De Paris – Paris, FR
Fri 10 Oct – Stereolux – Nantes, FR
Sun 12 Oct – Paradiso – Amsterdam, NL
Tue 14 Oct – Gloria – Cologne, DE
Wed 15 Oct – Astra – Berlin, DE
Fri 17 Oct – Vega – Copenhagen, NL
Sat 18 Oct – Fallan – Stockholm, SWE
Sun 19 Oct – Sentrum Scene – Oslo, NO
Tue 21 Oct – Mojo – Hamburg, GE
Wed 22 Oct – Roxy – Prague, CZ
Thu 23 Oct – Les Docks – Lausanne, SWI
Sat 25 Oct – Magazzini Generali – Milan, ITA
Sun 26 Oct – Epicerie Moderne – Lyon, FR
Tue 28 Oct – Ancienne Belgique – Brussels, BE
Thu 30 Oct – Brighton Dome – Brighton, UK
Fri 31 Oct – O2 Brixton Academy – London, UK

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