When a new artist releases an incredible debut album, one usually fears a sophomore slump. With Calvacade, Black Midi overcame this feat despite being short-handed. Earlier in the year Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin announced his temporary departure from the band due to mental health issues. Even so Black Midi managed to outdo themselves. The kit list for “Diamond Stuff” alone includes a cello, a sax, a grand piano, two bouzoukis, a late 19th Century zither called a Marxophone, a flute, a lap steel, synths and a wok. Yes, a wok with a violin bow. How do they come up with this?
Single “John L” opens the album and serves as Black Midi’s most impressive song to date. The variation of dynamics and breaks of silence in between Jerskin Fendrix’s violining leaves listeners captivated. On “Marlene Dietrich”, the trio proves that they are capable of tenderness. For the first time, we hear Geordie Greep’s voice clear as day, “Damn all those idiots, Damn them to death.”
“Chondromalacia Patella”, infamously named after an undisclosed member’s runner knee, nods to “bmbmbm” with its industrial crunch, though now more sounding like a trumpet screech. It’s crescendo builds to the end of the track, which sounds like a cartoon bomb falling out of the sky.
In “Slow”, Cameron Picton is introduced as vocalist. The track is drenched in irony and is anything but slow, reminiscent of the feeling of airplane turbulence. “Slowly it crumbles right under my eyes,” he grumbles in alto.
“Diamond Stuff” and it’s lone guitar intro mimics isolation, evolving into a twinkly two-minute instrumental. Drummer Morgan Simpson doesn’t join in until practically halfway through the song.
“Dethroned ” is the most reminiscent track to those of 2018’s Schlagenheim. Fusing classic rock with signature Black Midi energy, the last minute and a half shines through thanks to Simpson’s explosive drum work.
“Hogwash and Balderdash” is what one would call a “pit song”. Infused with energy and a punk eruption, one can easily confuse this as a song from The Garden. It serves as a reminder as to why Black Midi are usually lumped under the London post-punk umbrella in the first place. Calvacade comes to an end with the practically 10 minute-long, power ballad “Ascending Forth.”
With Calvacade, Black Midi hoped to be more harmonically interesting and challenging, and they proved to do exactly what they aimed for.
